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Tentative Agreement Reached To End PA State College Strike

HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) - A tentative contract agreement has been reached between the Pennsylvania state system of high education and its largest faculty union.

In a prepared statement, The Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties has accepted concessions to salary and benefits, in exchange for eliminating most of the changes the state system proposed in June.

The tentative three-year-contract will run through June 30th, 2018.

The three day strike began on Wednesday when 5,000 faculty members at 14 state universities hit the picket lines. It was the first strike in the history of APSCUF.

The union had been negotiating with the state since late 2014. Across the state, 100-thousand students were impacted.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf released the following statement on the contract agreement:

"Throughout this process, and during my conversations with both sides, the students and families were my focus. Coming to a final agreement was challenging, and it took a lot of effort from everyone involved, but I appreciate PASSHE and APSCUF coming together to reach a final agreement on a contract that is fair for professors and university faculty and the State System.

"We all agree that the higher education of our students is a top priority, and I am thrilled that today students can go back to class and professors can teach them.

"I will continue my fight for greater investment in higher education and affordability for Pennsylvania families. We must ensure that we all work together to strengthen the State System financially – after years of underfunding – while providing our professors and students with the resources necessary to train a future workforce to compete in the modern economy."

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