HARRISBURG Workers await contract details

The three tentative contracts would cover about 50,000 state employees.
HARRISBURG (AP) -- State employees expressed tentative support for a contract accord that would require them to pick up more of their health-care costs and forgo an immediate pay raise but promises future annual increases that would grow to 8 percent in the fourth and final year.
"I'd look to ratify it," said Mike Metcalf, 56, a financial analyst for the Public Utility Commission. "Considering what the rumors were for the past month, it wasn't such a bad deal."
"It's a lot better than I thought it would be," said Amanda Black, 31, who works for Legislative Services. "With the economy like it is these days, I'm just glad I have a job."
Most workers randomly interviewed Tuesday said they wanted more details about the four-year pacts with Council 13 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees -- the largest union in state government -- the Pennsylvania Social Services Union and the United Food and Commercial Workers union. The three cover about 50,000 of the 66,000 unionized employees under the governor's jurisdiction.
"Let's see what the bottom line is before I say anything," said Warren McCabe, a microphone technician with the PUC.
The bottom line remained elusive Tuesday, the day after Gov. Ed Rendell held a late-night news conference on the steps of the governor's residence to announce the agreements.
Other details
Administration Secretary Robert Barnett, who oversaw the negotiations, said the price of the package was still being calculated. Budget Secretary Michael Masch did not return telephone calls Tuesday.
If ratified by the unions' rank and file, and approved by the Legislature, the contracts would take effect Tuesday, the first day of fiscal 2004, and run through June 30, 2007 -- several months into the potential second term that Rendell is expected to seek in 2006.
Contract negotiations with about a dozen other unions whose contracts expired Monday night remained unresolved, Barnett said.
Also taking effect Tuesday was a state budget that Rendell proposed and lawmakers approved in March. Though it provided funding for other areas of state government, it contains no money for school subsidies -- a political football that remained in play as negotiations continued with lawmakers over new programs that Rendell has proposed.
Highlights of the labor agreements:
U Wages would be frozen in the first year. In the second year, employees would receive "longevity" raises -- step increases for some employees, or equivalent payments for senior employees at the top of their pay scales -- averaging 2.25 percent. In the third year, they would receive an across-the-board increase of 3 percent. In the fourth year, they would receive raises totaling 8 percent -- two 2.25 percent longevity increases (including one deferred from the third year) plus a 3.5 percent across-the-board raise.
U All employees would be required to pay higher copayments, deductibles and other charges for certain health services, although administration officials refused to discuss the details. New hires would be required to contribute 1 percent of their salary -- roughly $40 a month on average -- toward their health insurance premium. Current employees would not have to pay any of their premiums for the first two years. After that, the requirement would be phased in with the general pay raises in the third and fourth years.
U Employees would continue to get 11 paid holidays per year. An administration plan to eliminate two holidays was abandoned during the contract negotiations.
"By no means did we get everything we asked for," Rendell, flanked by leaders of the three unions, told reporters. "This was a fair agreement under the most difficult of circumstances."
AFSCME Council 13 chief David Fillman said in a statement Tuesday: "Our goal was to minimize the hit to our workers. When they went to work for the state, they just wanted to make a decent living for their families and have a good benefit package. This four-year contract continues to accomplish that goal."