In the interest of students at the 14 state-owned universities, APSCUF decided Sunday afternoon to honor the request of the state mediator to delay any job action for 24 hours. This comes on the heels of four days of intense negotiations. The current contract expired at midnight on Saturday. Classes will continue as scheduled on Monday, July 2.

APSCUF submitted a counter-proposal two hours before the close of negotiations Sunday, but the PASSHE declined to respond.  Citing modest movement in the talks, APSCUF leadership felt that cutting off talks at this moment would be counterproductive. “This is the first time in decades that literally just a few hours after a contract expired there was even a possibility of a settlement,” said Francisco Alarcon, Vice President of the IUP chapter of APSCUF. “This is largely thanks to the leadership of state APSCUF President Pat Heilman, who began to push the state to negotiate more than a year and a half ago.”

At the request of the mediator, an additional negotiation session is taking place Monday at a neutral location.