The first day of classes were canceled for Seattle's public schools due to a teacher strike Wednesday over pay, staffing ratio and other issues.

Ninety-five percent of the 6,000 employees in the Seattle Education Association union were in favor of the strike. The teachers are demanding more support for staff with a focus on the district's special education and multilingual programs.

The strike comes after months of negotiating between the Seattle Public Schools and SEA. It's the first time Seattle Public Schools educators have gone on strike since 2015.

"We don't want to be on strike, we would prefer to have an agreement, but SPS let us down," SEA President Jennifer Matter said in a video posted on Twitter.

"We just want better support for our students," she said.

Participating educators began striking in front of their schools at 7:30 a.m. PT and stayed until 3:30 p.m. They plan to return each day until an agreement is reached.

"Educators want to be in the classrooms with their students and need SPS to give those students the supports and adult attention they deserve," SEA said in a statement.

The SEA said that the goal is for the union and the school district to reach a contract agreement that brings the students and teachers back to the classrooms as fast as possible.

There are nearly 50,000 students in the district.

Seattle Public Schools said in a statement that it is "committed to negotiating on a new contract with our educators."