The Communications Workers of America has set a Sept. 30 deadline for nearly 25,000 Qwest employees to vote on a tentative contract agreement.

Qwest employees have been working without a contract since last Sunday.

CWA District 7 officials are expected to begin meeting with local union leaders to discuss the terms of the new contract, which call for a 7.5 percent pay raise over three years, an eight-hour cap on mandatory overtime, and changes to health care benefits. The union and Qwest reached the agreement late Tuesday, averting a potential strike.