JACKSON, Miss. – Striking workers at the Northrop Grumman shipyard in Pascagoula ended a monthlong walkout Wednesday by approving the company’s new contract proposal, which calls for a $2.78 raise an hour over the next three years.

That is $1.22 less than the amount workers originally sought, but 18 cents more than the company’s previous proposal.

“It has been difficult for everyone,” Bill Glenn, communications director of Northrop Grumman, told The Associated Press shortly after the votes were tabulated Wednesday night. “Now it’s time to get back to work.”

Tuesday is the first day workers will be mandated to return to their four-day-a-week jobs. Monday is a holiday and on Thursday workers didn’t have to return but could.

The Northrop Grumman yard and Maine’s Bath Iron Works are the leading Navy contractors for surface combat ships such as destroyers and cruisers.

Metal trade workers approved the contract with a 60 percent vote, while 67 percent of electrical workers voted yes, Glenn said.

“We are pleased that the contract was ratified, and we stand ready to get back to full production in Pascagoula,” a statement from the company said.

Ron Ault, national president of the AFL-CIO’s Metal Trades Department, said in a statement, “We’re proud of the solidarity and commitment that the workers put on the line to bring about the kind of agreement that both the union and the company can be proud of.”

In the new contract, first-year workers at Mississippi’s largest private employer will see their average pay rise from $18.32 an hour to $20. The 9.2 percent increase is one of the largest hourly raises in company history for first-year workers, a company statement said.

The proposal calls for an immediate $1.68 raise and then a boost of 55 cents a year for the next two years.

“This initial increase was designed to quickly and directly address the economic impacts of Hurricane Katrina on our employees,” a statement from the company said.

The Jackson County Civic Center was packed with workers when voting began at 10 a.m. Wednesday. The crowd grew larger by midday.

After union leaders explained the specifics of the contract, angry workers took to a microphone to express complaints with the deal. The throng of voters booed those who had positive statements.

The Sun Herald reported that talk among workers outside the building was laced with negative comments, but more were admitting they voted for the contract than in the past.

The unions had sought a $4 raise, phased in as $2 to return to work and two subsequent $1 raises.