HARRISBURG Gov. Ed Rendell's threat to impose rolling furloughs on tens of thousands of state workers would be avoided under a tentative agreement announced Thursday with the three largest Pennsylvania government employee unions.

The deal would allow the state to reduce its payments to the fund that administers state workers' health benefits by up to $200 million over 15 months. There would be no change to workers' health benefits, and the money would eventually be repaid.

Rendell's negotiators recently floated a plan to send workers home without pay for two days each month through June 2010. The governor's aides said the furloughs would save the state around $89 million a year.

Wendell W. Young IV, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers' Local 1776, said he expects his members to ratify the proposal overwhelmingly.

"We were very troubled at the idea of reopening agreements and facing rolling furloughs and facing other kinds of cuts," said Young, whose members consist of nearly 3,000 workers in state liquor stores. "This really avoids all that nastiness."