In Pennsylvania State Park Officers Association v. Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board, 854 A.2d 674 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2004), appeal denied, 582 Pa. 704, 871 A.2d 194 (2005), the Court addressed whether the Commonwealth's failure to pay longevity wage increases mandated by expired contracts constituted unfair labor practices for purposes of Act 111 and PERA. Since employers are required to maintain the status quo with respect to wages, a mandatory subject of bargaining, during contract hiatus and negotiation in order to avoid an unfair labor practice charge, resolution of the issue made it necessary to determine whether the status quo entailed freezing wages at the level existing on contract expiration or increasing wages pursuant to automatic wage escalators contained in the expired agreements. The court found Fairview (Fairview School District v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review) dispositive and concluded that maintaining the status quo did not mandate automatic wage increases. The Court also stressed that to define the status quo in a manner which provided for wage increases following contract expiration "would allow employees to gain an unfair advantage over their public employers by obtaining the very wage increases under negotiation, which would, discourage good faith negotiations and compliance with statutory deadlines." 854 A.2d at 682. The unions representing two units of Commonwealth employees argued that the Commonwealth committed an unfair labor practice by refusing to pay longevity wage increases that accrued during the post contract expiration period. The Court observed that the real issue was how to define the status quo. Id. at 680. The Board argued that it meant freezing wages at the moment the collective bargaining agreements expired. The unions, on the other hand, argued that maintaining the status quo meant increasing their members' wages in accordance with the automatic wage escalators in the expired agreements. The unions attempted to distinguish Fairview School District. They argued that the "stepped-up" salary increases at issue in Fairview School District were different from longevity wage increases at issue in the contract between the State Park Officers and the Commonwealth. In rejecting the unions' argument, the Court reasoned that it was premised upon a distinction without a difference because both schemes provide financial rewards based upon an employee's length of service, and in this case the incentives were part of the overall salary structure that was a mandatory subject of bargaining between the parties. Id. at 681-682. The Court addressed what status quo had to be maintained until a new collective agreement was executed. The Court held that longevity payments due during a strike were not required to be paid because the contract had expiredPennsylvania State Park Officers' Association posits that there can be no change in the status quo during the interim between bargaining agreements.