There was a certain amount of rejoicing last week when it was announced Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration had reached a tentative agreement on a new labor contract with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

The tentative agreement forestalled the possibility of a first-ever strike against the state by AFSCME’s members. Although there were plenty of people who thought the union wouldn’t go on strike, AFSCME nonetheless had been revving up talk of a walkout in the weeks leading up to the agreement.

The contract must still be ratified by rank-and-file members, but you can be sure AFSCME’s leadership will press home the idea that the deal is a lot better than the alternatives that were pushed by the Quinn administration for the past 15 months, including a 3-year wage freeze and much higher health insurance costs.