The contract that covers about 150 members of the Hawai'i Teamsters and Allied Workers Local 996 expired at 12:01 this morning. On Wednesday, the workers overwhelmingly authorized union officials to call a strike if contract negotiations failed. However, a tentative agreement was reached at about 4 a.m. today, after nearly 18 hours of negotiations, according to the union.

The agreement will be presented to union members for ratification sometime next week. Ron Kozuma, Teamsters' secretary-treasurer, said details won't be released until after members review the terms of the proposed five-year contract.

Key issues settled included increases to pension benefits and wages and the maintenance of healthcare benefits, the union said. There was no interruption in Meadow Gold's work schedule during the negotiations, Kozuma added.

"We all have families, so we understood the concern for our keiki and our elderly who depend on fresh milk and other products," he said. "Our negotiating committee did a great job to (keep) the talks going."