The managers of the 14 state universities, including Shippensburg and Millersville, have refused a request by the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education's faculty union to take their nearly two year contract dispute to binding arbitration.

In a letter to Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties President Steve Hicks, system Chancellor John Cavanaugh said, "We believe it would be improper to delegate those responsibilities to a third party arbitrator who does not have the responsibility or duty to consider the financial implications of their decisions and who is not obligated to take into account the interests of Pennsylvania taxpayers or the long-term effects of those decisions on the Commonwealth or PASSHE."

The letter also points out that the system has managed to reach agreement through bargaining with five other unions as well as achieve some progress in the talks with faculty. Cavanaugh also said he believes its best to keep working at the bargaining table to achieve a settlement.

The union, which represents more than 5,000 professors, has been working without a contract since June 30, 2011. At present, there is a general agreement around salary terms in a proposed contract but sticking points exist when it comes to temporary faculty pay, health benefits and distance education pay.

Hicks said, "We are disappointed that the Chancellor has failed to avail himself of the statutory option to have a neutral party resolve our differences. We will continue to work at the negotiations table and have meetings scheduled into November but (the union leaders from the 14 campuses) also are meeting this weekend to discuss how else to reach a fair settlement."

The union has said it will consider a strike authorization vote at this weekend's meeting. That doesn't necessarily mean there will be a strike but it gives the top union officials the ability to call a work stoppage. The faculty at the state universities has come close to striking in past rounds of negotiations but it never has actually gone on strike in the system's 29 year history.

At last week's system board meeting which was preceded by a faculty demonstration calling for a fair contract, Hicks made a point of reminding board members that this contract dispute is the longest in the union's 40-year history.

The contract talks also impact the faculty at Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Slippery Rock and West Chester universities.

Here is the text of Cavanaugh's letter to Hicks: