Utility workers and National Grid reached a tentative agreement Saturday night on a new contract, a spokesman for the Brotherhood of Utility Workers Council and Local 369 said.
Dan Hurley, president of the council, said the agreement came after weeks of negotiations. It will be put to a vote of the membership on Monday, May 20, he said.
There was no immediate confirmation from National Grid.
Negotiations had focused on proposed increases in health-care costs for union members and the issue of staffing levels, "which is so crucial to public safety and adequate storm response," Hurley said in a statement.
"Through these ongoing negotiations and with the assistance of a federal mediator, we believe we have reached an agreement that provides important protections for our hardworking men and women and the communities that we serve," Hurley said.
Specific details of the tentative agreement were not immediately available. The agreement came as a midnight deadline loomed Saturday.