Cash-strapped state forges agreement with unions

By Todd Wallack, Globe Staff

Governor Patrick's budget chief said today that the state has struck tentative deals with four major state employee unions that call for mandatory furloughs and other changes that will save "tens of millions" of dollars and avert hundreds of layoffs.

Administration and Finance Secretary Jay Gonzalez said the four unions – AFSCME, SEIU 509, SEIU 888, and NAGE -- represent about 30,000 workers, or about three-quarters of the unionized executive branch employees. The agreements must still be approved by union members.

Gonzalez said the state is continuing to negotiate with other unions.

The Patrick administration said late last month it would eliminate nearly 1,000 jobs to close a massive state budget gap caused by the stumbling economy. Officials said another 1,000 jobs were in jeopardy if state employee unions did not agree to $35 million in concessions, such as unpaid furlough days.

Gonzalez, speaking at a breakfast meeting of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce at the Langham Hotel in downtown Boston, did not specify today the exact amount of concessions made by the four unions or exactly how many layoffs were averted.