HARRISBURG — Faculty at Pennsylvania’s 14 state universities are voting on whether to authorize a strike.

The Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties announced the vote last month. Slippery Rock University, Clarion and Indiana (Pa.) University are part of the state system.

The faculty vote began Wednesday and is scheduled to end on Friday. Coaches belonging to the union are expected to vote next week.

Faculty members have been working without a contract since June of last year. A spokesman for the state system said attendance is down at most universities and that the system faces financial strains.

Negotiations are focused around health care, course load and class size. The union says it has never had to go on strike, but has come close in recent years.