STATE WORKERS UNION OFFERS NEW PAY HIKE PROPOSAL.(CAPITAL REGION)

Byline: JAY JOCHNOWITZ State editor

Signaling some movement in long-stalled contract talks, the Public Employees Federation has lowered its pay hike proposal to New York state to match one already given by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Rather than the series of 5 percent raises over three years it initially asked, PEF, New York's second-largest public employee union with about 53,000 professional, scientific and technical members in state government, proposes increases of 5, 3 and 4 percent. That proposal matches one reached in December between the MTA and its roughly 32,000 employees.

The proposal is higher, however, than what Gov. …