Democrats have spoken strongly in favor of the concessions, saying the unions reached the best deal possible and that no other agreement is in place to save $1.5 billion over two years. The agreement calls for a hard' wage freeze in the first two years, one-time stipends of $2,000 for more than 40,000 unionized employees in the third year, and general wage increases of 3.5 percent in each of the fourth and fifth years.