The steps now taken toward a proposed contract between the county and its largest union are worthy of credit for both the county executive and union leaders.

Union members should support the deal.

County Executive Chris Collins may have accomplished a near insurmountable task that loomed as he took office in 2008. He has negotiated new labor agreements with the county’s unions, in an era of distrust and well after the previous contracts had run out.

If successful, it would be a crowning moment for Collins —85 percent of county employees will be under a contract through 2015, and during the last year of his second term if he is re-elected next year. That percentage includes other union agreements.

The willingness of leaders of Local 815 of the Civil Services Employees Association leaders to negotiate deserves as much recognition.

Union members were vociferous in their objections to givebacks, a position amplified earlier with an appearance at a rally here months ago by statewide union President Danny Donohue. They did not want to see jobs disappear with businessman/ county executive Collins. It was a stare-down to the finish, but practical negotiations finally led to this point —members will decide on this deal on June 8, following informational meetings on June 3.

Union members shouldn’t allow this opportunity to slip through the cracks. As they’re well aware, many Americans are struggling to pay their bills or find a job after being laid off in this deep recession, and the deal sets union workers up for a decent 15 percent raise over five years—if two paid holidays and the practice of “summer hours” are given back. That’s a reasonable compromise.

This also is a contract that, on balance, doesn’t unduly hurt taxpayers but gets closer to helping the county deal with rising retiree health care costs under the strain of full retiree health care. In addition to providing new conditions to help pay part of health care insurance for newly hired workers, the contract gives back some paid holidays, personal days and the outdated and ridiculous practice of summer hours, which allowed unionized employees to leave work a half hour early in July and August and get paid for the time in a heat-related issue the air conditioner should have solved long ago. And, tangentially, the union would agree to work with county managers to establish a dress code.

These are all common-sense practices with varying timetables set to help the work force, county administration and taxpayers, including union members, to get some financial relief going forward.