In response to a strike threat by the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties (APSCUF), the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) offered a tentative agreement in contract negotiation on Tuesday, July 3. Governor Edward G. Rendell met with the groups in a press conference in Harrisburg, announcing that the two parties had settled on a “truly fair and balanced contract.”

The association, which represents over 5,000 professors from fourteen state-owned universities, was protesting, among other issues, the 2% salary increase initially offered by the state, requesting instead an increase of 4%, as well as additional increases in future years.

The tentative arrangement, which would run through June 30, 2011 and must first pass through a union vote and the Board of Governors panel, would offer full-time faculty a one-time cash payment of $1,750, a 3% salary increase in 2008-10, and a 4% increase in 2011.