Members of two large Pennsylvania state employee unions this month ratified proposed four-year contracts with Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro's administration, with the cost of salaries and benefits projected to rise by more than 20%.

One agreement covers about 10,000 members of the Service Employees International Union Local 668 and was ratified last week. Earlier this month, about 27,000 members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 13 ratified another agreement. The Independent Fiscal Office, a legislative agency, estimated that the AFSCME contract will increase salaries and benefits by almost $1.2 billion in the deal's fourth year, or roughly 21%.