Murphy: Deal with state workers carries $150 million tab

Taxpayers are on the hook for nearly $150 million for a four-year labor contract with the biggest state workers' union, Gov. Phil Murphy said Thursday.

Murphy, a Democrat, announced the cost of the contract on Thursday after earlier saying he wasn't sure of the "exact cost." He offered more insight into his thoughts about the deal, which finalized this week, at an unrelated event in Edison.

"We want to make sure working folks and their families are treated fairly again in this state," he said. "But we also represent on our side of the table — we want to make sure that we enter into arrangements, when we shake hands, it's something we feel we can live with."

The $148.9 million cost is spread over four years going back to 2015. Murphy said the figures are built into the fiscal year 2018 and 2019 budgets. It's unclear if the cost that Murphy publicized on Thursday covers just the salary increases or if it also includes wages.

Former Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, handed off a fiscal year budget that included about $108 million slated for salary increases, according to Murphy's budget proposal.

The deal with the Communication Workers of America was agreed to by its nearly 35,000 members this week.

The contract includes two 2 percent raises and the restoration of step increases that Christie discontinued when the old contract expired in 2015. Christie often clashed with labor, and his step increase move led to a lawsuit with the CWA. The new contract also ends that lawsuit.

Murphy says more than half the cost of the contract will go toward retroactively restoring the step increases. He called the deal the "right thing to do" and said he's "very comfortable" with it.

The contract covers 2015 to 2019. Negotiations on a new contract are expected to begin this month.