Profs may strike across Pa.

The Associated Press Negotiators began the session at 4 p.m. and broke for dinner at about 9:15. They resumed bargaining at about 10:15 p.m. with no word about the progress. ''We'll know fairly soon if they are going to be in for the night or whether they will stop talking,'' State System of Higher Education spokesperson Kenn Marshall told the Associated Press at 10:40 p.m. On Monday, the seven-member executive leadership team of the union voted to strike if the union and state system cannot settle on a new faculty contract. Marshall said earlier yesterday that officials hoped the strike could be avoided, but if one happened the administration would try to keep classes going. He said he did not expect all faculty members to join a walkout. William Fulmer, the president of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties, could announce the decision to strike today on the campus of East Stroudsburg University if further talks do not result in agreement. Despite four days of talks last week, the two sides have been unable to agree on pay, health benefits and other issues. Fulmer has said faculty members will give 48 hours notice before going on strike. On Tuesday he ordered the 14 campus union chapters to move their strike headquarters off campus by today. The system consists of Cheyney, Slippery Rock, Edinboro, California, Clarion, Lock Haven, Shippensburg, West Chester, Mansfield, Bloomsburg, East Stroudsburg, Kutztown, Millersville and Indiana universities. A walkout next week by all 5,500 union instructors could cripple a semester that began about a month ago. Still, university and state officials insisted the semester will not be canceled for the more than 90,000 students. They are drawing up plans to extend classes to Saturday or in the evenings after such a strike to make up for lost time. The union had announced Saturday that -- with well over 90 percent of faculty members participating -- 92.4 percent had cast their ballots in favor of authorizing a strike. The union has offered to go to binding arbitration, meaning both sides would put their last best offer on the table and let an arbitrator choose one proposal or the other. Faculty union members have worked without a contract since it expired June 30. Issues in dispute include the pay scale, which the state wants to restructure to retain the same salary increases but stretch them over a longer period so that it will take 14 years instead of the current 11 years to reach the top of the scale. The union is also objecting to the state system's $140,000 advertising campaign to get its side of the story out during the strike. Fulmer said the money could have been better used for faculty salaries and improved equipment. Marshall said they need to spend the money to get their message out because the faculty members have direct access to students to get their point of view across.