Union workers at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa yesterday overwhelmingly ratified a four-year contract that includes wage increases and reductions in housekeeper workloads.

The contract covers more than 1,500 unionized Hilton employees, who had been without a contract since June 30. The union, UNITE HERE Local 5, said 98 percent of voting workers voted to ratify the contract.

The contract includes wage increases of $2.40 an hour over four years for non-tipped workers, and $1.20 an hour increases for tipped workers over the same period. The raises are the largest the workers have received in more than 15 years. The average unionized hotel worker earns about $14 to $15 an hour, Local 5 said.

The contract also includes increases in company contributions to employees' health and welfare fund and pension fund, and reduces housekeeper workloads from 16 rooms a day to 15 rooms.

The Hilton vote comes just days after workers at the Sheraton hotels in Waikiki ratified a four-year contract that includes identical wage increases and employer pension and health fund contributions.

"The Hilton Hawaiian Village is proud that we are able to show our appreciation for all the hard work performed by our employees — our team members — by providing fair wages and excellent benefit packages for them, their families and our retired employees," said Gary Seibert, area vice president and managing director for Hilton Hawaii.

With the Hilton and Sheraton contracts, "we are definitely moving in the right direction" in securing "good, middle-class hotel jobs," said Local 5 spokesman Cade Watanabe.

The union still has to negotiate contracts for union workers at five other Honolulu hotels, including the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort & Spa, the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, the Ilikai, the Kahala Hotel & Resort, and the Ala Moana Hotel. Local 5 and Hyatt are scheduled to resume contract bargaining next week.

Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com.