(Host) A contract agreement has been reached between the Douglas administration and state workers that will cut pay by three percent.
State workers also will get no automatic wage adjustments or other pay raises during the two-year contract.
Administration Secretary Neal Lunderville says the deal with the Vermont State Employees Association reflects the state’s tough financial condition.
(Lunderville) "This agreement today recognizes that we all need to share this sacrifice broadly. We all need to pull together and do a little bit so that no one person is forced to shoulder everything."
(Host) The administration says the agreement will mean two million dollars in savings in the 2011 budget.
VSEA Director Jes Kraus says the union was willing to help.
(Kraus) "I think this just signals that our bargaining teams, our members, certainly recognize the severity of the current economic situation. They have for a long time. This isn’t the first time that they’ve offered to try and help. They know that they need to do their part but in a fair way."
(Host) Kraus says it’s important to the VSEA that when the contract expires, union workers’ salaries will return to what they are now.