Verizon offers hikes to 38,000 employees after starting union negotiations

(Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc said it offered salary hikes to 38,000 employee in its East wireline business after its first negotiating session with representatives of the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. The proposal for a three-year period included wage increases, cost controls for healtcare plans and pension-related benefits, the company said on Monday. The wage increases were subject to an agreement between the company and the unions. The current contracts expire on Aug. 1. The company's union-represented employees in the East worked under 27 collective bargaining agreements in nine eastern states in the United States and Washington D.C. (Reporting By Lehar Maan in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das)