New union deal has one more furlough day, higher health benefits

Mark Hayward reports in the Union Leader reports on the newest tentative agreement between state negotiators and the State Employees Association .

Agreed to late in the afternoon, the proposal will go to the bargaining senate of the State Employees Association on Monday. The 250-member body will decide whether to forward it to members for ratification and whether to recommend passage, said Diana Lacey, chairman of the collective bargaining team for the SEA.

The agreement ends days of intense negotiations between the two sides. On Wednesday, Gov. John Lynch cautioned that layoffs of 750 workers would begin if no deal were reached by yesterday. The SEA contract covers 10,200 state workers, the union said...

Lynch spokesman Colin Manning said the union has agreed to an additional day of furlough in order to avoid any changes to the health care plan. The deal calls for 19 days of furlough over two years, he said.
Manning said the agreement would not provide higher pay for corrections workers, as the SEA had wanted.