Public-worker union, state reach deal

The United Public Workers and the state have reached a tentative agreement on a new four-year contract.

Neither the blue-collar union nor the Abercrombie administration would publicly release details of the agreement Friday evening. However, sources say the UPW’s approximately 9,000 state and county workers would receive 2 percent raises in October and then 2 percent raises every six months until the contract expires in 2017.

Workers would also pay a 40 percent share of their health insurance premiums, sources say, down from 50 percent.

"Now it’s in the hands of the UPW Unit 1 membership," Louise Kim McCoy, Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s spokes­woman, said of the union’s ratification vote.

UPW leaders could not be reached for comment.

State lawmakers preparing the final draft of the state’s two-year budget and six-year financial plan have been apprehensive about spending on tax incentives and new state programs because of the uncertainty about the cost of new labor contracts with public workers.

The Hawaii State Teachers Association ratified a new four-year contract Wednesday that will cost the state an estimated $330 million.

The UPW deal may not be ratified before lawmakers finalize the budget early next week, but lawmakers will be aware of its potential cost as they make spending decisions.

The Hawaii Government Employees Association, the state’s largest public-sector labor union, is still in negotiations with the Abercrombie administration. The University of Hawaii Professional Assembly is in the fourth year of a six-year contract that expires in 2015.

Most units in the UPW and HGEA had taken 5 percent pay cuts over the past two years to help the state close a projected budget deficit, while Abercrombie imposed the labor savings on HSTA after a stalemate.

UPW’s 2,700 correctional, institutional and health workers, however, went to binding arbitration and in January were awarded 3.2 percent raises. HGEA’s nurses also went to arbitration and were awarded a 4 percent pay raise retroactive to January and a 4 percent pay raise in April.

Lawmakers knew the pay cuts would end when the contracts expire this year and that unions would likely seek raises, but they are unable to budget for new contracts unless they are ratified before session ends in early May.