The agreement was struck as the internationally observed Asian Development Bank prepares to convene its board of governors meeting in Honolulu this week.

Richard Rand, hotel employers council spokesman, said the employers were very pleased that there will be no strike in light of the upcoming ADB conference. "I think that would have reflected poorly on the city," he said.

Rand and union officials said those employees who planned to attend a union work stoppage meeting at 10 a.m. at the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall could do so. Those scheduled to work shifts beginning at noon or later are to report to work. Rand said Hyatt employees are asked to report to work before and after the work stoppage meeting.

Union workers will be briefed on the contract at the meeting but ratification votes will be held later

The agreement, which will be at least partially retroactive to March 1, 2000, will expire Feb. 28, 2002. Rand said negotiations on the next contract could resume within seven months.

The tentative settlement covers 5,000 members of Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Local 5 employed by the Royal Hawaiian, Sheraton Waikiki, Sheraton Moana Surfrider, Sheraton Princess Ka'iulani, Hyatt Regency Resort & Spa and the Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort and Spa.

The last round of talks leading to the agreement began yesterday afternoon, with the subcontracting proving a major sticking point.

"We've been negotiating over subcontracting for the past 13 or 14 years. It has reached a point now where we really have to take a stand," Rutledge said.

Earlier in the talks, Rutledge said some issues had been moving forward but some were still left on wages. Rutledge said the initial proposal by the union, submitted to the Hawaii Hotel Council Friday, sought a 5 percent wage increase each year over three years.

Rutledge said the union had presented a proposal to management Friday offering some concessions on salary raises and starting salaries for new hires.

A work stoppage and strike could have snarled Waikiki, inconvenienced thousands of tourists and damaged local businesses that have been gearing up for the ADB conference, which begins Wednesday.

Thousands of executives and finance ministers from around the world are scheduled to attend, many staying at hotels covered by the tentative contract.

The union, which has been working under a contract extension for more than a year, has said a record number of visitors gave hotels a profitable year in 2000. Hotel owners said they projected a slowdown in the state's economy and stagnant visitor arrivals that could impact the negotiations over salaries.

Dozens of hotel labor agreements at other properties around the state have expired or are about to lapse, but talks for most of them have been put on hold. The contract tentatively settled today is seen as a bellwether for other hotels in their contract negotiations.

Rutledge, in addition to heading Unity House, a nonprofit benefitting hotel workers, led Local 5 until he was ousted from the top spot in elections last year by Gill.

In February, Gill was removed from his position when national union leadership put Local 5 in trusteeship, following a dispute between Rutledge and Gill supporters.

Sherri Chiesa, the union's western regional director and trustee for Local 5, appointed both men to the union contract negotiations team.