Most faculty refusing to cross picket lines

estimated fewer than 25 of 755 faculty were teaching.

Schools are telling students to report to class, although some campuses also are letting students know which classes are temporarily without teachers. System officials have said they will not hire replacements, but it’s unclear how many classes are being led by staff or administrators.

No bargaining sessions were scheduled Thursday, but there were back-channel efforts to bring the parties together, including by the governor’s office.

“Staff spoke with both sides by phone throughout the day and urged them to come back to the table,” said Jeffrey Sheridan, a spokesman for Gov. Tom Wolf. “The governor’s priority is getting students and professors back into the classroom, and he believes a fair compromise should be reached to ensure that happens.”

Both sides insist they are ready to bargain anew, though neither indicated it has reached out directly to the other side.

Instead, dueling rhetoric — much of it on social media — continued. It included a video posted Thursday to the state APSCUF Facebook page.

In it, union president Kenneth Mash, cell phone in hand, stands outside State System headquarters in Harrisburg, where staff including chancellor Frank Brogan work and where Mr. Mash has been picketing since the strike began at 5 a.m. Wednesday.

“I just want everyone to know … we’re ready to negotiate,” Mr. Mash says in the video, prominently displaying the phone. “They know how to get in touch with us. Feel free.”

The State System said it remains committed to reaching a settlement fair to faculty and students. “Even though there are no formal negotiating sessions underway, the State System is working hard to find a path forward,” said a statement issued by spokesman Kenn Marshall.