NEW YORK – Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) yesterday announced tentative three-year contracts with two unions in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.

The deals – with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) – include raises totaling 10.5 percent over the next three years, the company said.

The contracts also will pare company costs – not just now, but also in the long term, a goal Verizon described as “a key focus of the bargaining.”

For instance, the contracts include a shift from a defined-benefit program for retirees to a defined-contribution approach: “For employees covered under the agreement and hired after Aug. 2, 2008, the company will contribute a fixed dollar amount per year of service toward their future annual retiree health care premium cost,” Verizon said.

In addition, the company said, the unions have agreed to join Verizon in working on a national “Labor and Management Partnership for Health Care Reform.”

The tentative agreements affect about 65,000 CWA and IBEW workers in 10 states plus Washington, D.C., including about 1,200 in Rhode Island, Verizon said. Most of those workers are in the Verizon Telecom group.

In a plus for the unions, about 900 temporary employees of the Verizon Telecom group will be made regular employees, the company said. And, “in support of the company’s continued growth, Verizon will transfer more than 600 positions” to its Telecom group from Verizon Business.

“We approached the bargaining tables with an interest in solving problems. … From the start, our goal has been to continue to provide our employees with a package of competitive wages and benefits,” said Marc C. Reed, executive vice president for human resources at Verizon Communications.

The contracts – averting a widespread strike that had been slated to begin early this morning – have yet to be ratified by union members. But CWA and IBEW officials told the Associated Press they are pleased with the agreements.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), a Dow 30 company, delivers broadband and other communications services through its Verizon Wireless and Verizon Wireline divisions. For more information about Verizon and its Rhode Island operations, visit www.verizon.com/ri.