An impending strike by the 5,500 faculty and coaches of Pennsylvania’s state-owned… An impending strike by the 5,500 faculty and coaches of Pennsylvania’s state-owned universities has been narrowly avoided for the time being.

After months of negotiations between the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties and the State System of Higher Education, the sides began to reach a compromise at the last negotiation session Saturday.

Because of the last-minute progress, the union has agreed to the state’s request that any strike be postponed for at least 24 hours to allow for talks to continue this morning in Harrisburg. According to a joint statement by the union and the state on the union’s website, the two sides have reached a “tentative agreement” concerning four-year contracts for the union’s coaches.

While nothing will be set in stone until both the union membership and the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education’s Board of Governors have ratified the agreement, the preliminary compromise comes at a critical time as the negotiation period is about to expire and summer classes are set to begin.

The proposed agreement for union coaches “would provide full-time coaches with $1,250 at the beginning of the 2007-08 academic year, as well as annual increases of 2.25 percent in January of each of the four years covered by the pact,” the union’s website said.

This provision is on track with the union’s original requests, which asked for yearly pay increases for the duration of the contractual period.

The proposal also offers the possibility of additional merit-based pay increases after the first year of the contract and an increase in the minimum salary for coaches by $2,500 as of July 2009.

As part of their compromise with the state, should the current proposal be ratified, coaches will agree to pay 1 percent of their annual salary for health coverage in the first year of the contract.

The percent they pay for health care will then increase by .5 percent increments each subsequent year until topping out at 3 percent in 2010-11.

Prior to Monday’s meeting, no individual articles have been approved for a final contract for union teachers or coaches and, should no compromise be reached, the union retains its right to strike.