Eastern Illinois University and its faculty union have reached a tentative labor agreement that will go up for a vote after the faculty returns to campus for the fall semester.

The 4-year agreement includes a 1.5% annual salary increase. It also includes a proposal to make the pay scale more uniform for teaching summer classes.

Union negotiator Grant Sterling and EIU President William Perry say it's the first time in years that a tentative deal has been reached before the current contract expires. The faculty's current deal expires on Aug. 31.

The proposed contract is scheduled for a faculty vote in late August or early September. The deal would then be presented to the university's Board of Trustees for a Sept. 21 vote.