Gov. Jerry Brown reaches deal with prison guards

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California prison guards, who are represented by one of the largest and most politically powerful state-employee unions, have reached a contract agreement with Gov. Jerry Brown.

Neither the California Correctional Peace Officers Assn. nor the governor’s office would provide details of the long-awaited contract on Tuesday afternoon, but David Gay, a spokesman for the Department of Personnel Administration, confirmed a deal was struck early Tuesday morning.

The prison guards, who have a reputation for being among the best paid state employees, have been operating without a formal contract since reaching an impasse over wages and benefits with former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006.

The union –- which represents about 30,000 employees -- spent millions of dollars on Brown’s election campaign. Its annual conference in Las Vegas was one of the few public speaking engagements Brown made between his election in November and his inauguration in January.

-- Jack Dolan