Tentative pay raise negotiated for state employees

HELENA (AP) — Gov. Brian Schweitzer's administration and labor unions have negotiated a 10 percent pay raise for state workers over the next two years, but there's a catch: The deal must be approved by legislators who won't meet until the lame-duck Democratic governor has left office.

Three public employee unions announced the deal Monday at the state Capitol. It calls for base pay raises of 5 percent and a 10 percent increase in the state's share of employees' health insurance premiums in each of the next two years, Lee Newspapers of Montana reported.

The deal would affect between 15,000 and...