Avaya spokeswoman Lynn Newman couldn't immediately provide details of the agreement with the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, she said in an interview. The company has about 17,000 workers, she said.
The previous labor contract expired Saturday and union workers had authorized a strike if no agreement could be reached, the Communications Workers union said in a statement distributed by PR Newswire. Union representatives Jeff Miller and Candice Johnson didn't immediately return a voice-mail message left at the union's office Sunday night.
The agreement gives workers a 3 percent raise in each year of the contract, among other things, and in exchange the union agreed to some sharing of health costs, it said. Union members will vote on the contract within the next four to six weeks, the union said.
Basking Ridge, New Jersey-based Avaya, which was spun off from Lucent Technologies Inc. in September 2000, has trimmed its workforce by almost half in the last two and a half years as demand for its products has slumped because corporations cut spending on office equipment.
Shares of Avaya rose 30 cents to $6.62 Friday in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. They have more than doubled this year.
/>
