Decline to comment on specifics
By Caleb Taylor | PA Independent
HARRISBURG — The Corbett administration reached a tentative agreement with Pennsylvania’s public employees union, with the June 30 contract extension deadline a week away.
This “handshake agreement” is required before the deadline even though the process of reaching an agreement is expected to take several weeks, said Dan Egan, spokesman for the state Department of Administration.
The proposed agreement will be brought before local leaders of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Workers, or AFSCME, on Saturday. The union represents about 45,000 state employees.
The administration and the union were reluctant to speak about the specific terms of the agreement before the rank-and-file union leaders looked at the proposal first. However, both sides said they were pleased with it.
The initial proposal from the Corbett administration to AFSCME in May included a 4-percent pay cut, changes to employees’ contributions to their health plans and a cheaper health benefit package for new employees.
“When we started in May with the initial proposal to reaching this tentative agreement, I can say we are pleased with this end result and that includes the areas of salary and health-care benefits,” said David Fillman, president of AFSCME, of the four-year contract.
