Union workers at Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa ratified a new three-year contract, ending nine months of heated bargaining at the property, which is the first isle hotel to settle with Unite Here Local 5 this negotiating period.

The contract, which union workers approved today by a 99 percent margin, includes a retroactive pay increase for workers, preserves full family medical and pension benefits and restores 75 previously subcontracted night-time cleaning jobs to the bargaining unit. The contract also improves housekeeper workloads, protects workers from personal credit-history discrimination and subsidizes employee transit passes.

The union would not say how much wages were increased. The average wage for Hilton union workers under the old contract was $16.67 per hour.

“It’s an excellent contract,” said Eric Gill, Local 5 financial secretary/treasurer. “I’m proud that the latest contract goes against the tide.”

Jerry Gibson, area vice president of Hilton Hawaii, who joined Gill and union workers at a news conference to announce the agreement called the new contract “an important step for Waikiki and for the entire state of Hawaii.”

“The agreement comes at an important time as we have the beginnings of a recovery and can now focus our full attention on the many projects that we have at hand that will lead us into the future,” Gibson said.