FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          CONTACT: Lynne Kirk

January 15, 2007                                                                 800-5-AFSCME

                                                                                              www.afscme13.org

 STATE WORKERS AND COMMONWEALTH

REACH TENTATIVE AGREEMENT

Harrisburg—Negotiators from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Council 13 of AFSCME, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, reached a tentative four-year agreement at 5:30 am on Friday, January 12.

The agreement, which received overwhelming support on Saturday from the larger Policy Committee, provides for bonuses and wage increases of 22.4 percent for the average state employee over the life of the four-year agreement.

“This is a very fair contract, with good wage increases that show the Commonwealth appreciated the sacrifices made by AFSCME members in the last contract,” said Council 13 Executive Director David Fillman. “We worked hard to balance wage increases with healthcare costs for active employees and future retirees.”

Fillman was among three union leaders who joined the Governor at a press conference held at the Governor’s Mansion at 2:00 pm today.

AFSCME’s agreement covers nearly 45,000 state workers. Members of 204 Local Unions will vote on the contract in meetings around the state over the next two weeks.

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AFSCME Council 13 represents more than 65,000 employees of the state and its counties, townships, boroughs, cities, school districts, and healthcare and human service facilities.