Alaska, union reach tentative labor agreement

JUNEAU, Alaska

Labor, trade and craft workers are set to vote on a tentative three-year agreement with the state.

Bob Johnson, business manager and secretary-treasurer of Public Employees Local 71, hopes to have a vote of the 1,750 members in that unit completed by early May.

Legislators must fund any deal.

Johnson said work between the state and union began in late 2008. The three-year clock on the proposal began July 1, 2009; it's set to run through June 2012.

Johnson said he's content with the deal though "a lot" of the union's concerns weren't addressed. He wouldn't give specifics but noted new negotiations would begin in 1 1/2 years.

The tentative agreement includes health benefits and wage increases and lump sum payments.