DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An arbitrator has sided with Iowa state employees who objected to a state proposal that would have forced them to pay up to 20 percent of their monthly health care premiums. The arbitrator sided with the employees’ union on Saturday, saying the employee union’s proposal to instead pay $20 a month toward their health care premiums was the most reasonable.

The wage proposals of both the state and union leaders were much the same. State employees will get a pay hike of about 6 percent over two years. Union president Danny Homan on Saturday lauded the decision, saying it will “help put money in the pockets of state employees.” But Gov. Terry Branstad’s office says the decision will “cost the Iowa taxpayers an additional $24 million.”