ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Latest on a tentative agreement being reached by the state and striking ferry workers (all times local):
12:05 p.m.
State officials confirm that they have reached a tentative agreement with the union representing striking ferry workers.
Department of Administration Commissioner Kelly Tshibaka says in a release that a new three-year deal was reached Thursday night. Tshibaka says terms will be released after union members ratify the agreement. Voting was ongoing Friday afternoon.
The Inlandboatmen’s Union of the Pacific union members went on strike July 24 over wages, health care and over a lack of communication of how budget cuts would affect them.
Union president and chief negotiator Marina Secchitano is quoted in the state’s release saying the new agreement addresses many concerns of union members.
The Alaska Marine Highway System is preparing to bring ferries back online. Officials say the earliest ships could sail would be Saturday.
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11:28 a.m.
A tentative agreement has been reached between ferry workers and the state of Alaska that could end a week-old strike that left some passengers and vehicles stranded.
Robb Arnold, a spokesman for the Inlandboatmen’s Union of the Pacific, tells the Anchorage Daily News that an agreement was reached Thursday night in its employment contract negotiations with the state.
Arnold would not disclose terms of the agreement which still needs to be approved by union members. Neither Arnold nor state officials immediately returned messages to The Associated Press.
Union members went on strike July 24, halting a network that serves many coastal communities not connected to the road system.
The union represents about 430 workers, according to the state. It is one of three unions representing ferry workers.