Avondale Shipbuilding employees voted to approve the terms of their first union contract with Litton Industries. The company's 1,500 Metal Trades -represented workers approved the agreement by a four-to-one margin. The 45-month agreement, negotiated by the New Orleans Metal Trades Council, provides an immediate three percent wage hike in January as part of an overall nine percent wage hike paid in three increments. Also in the area of wages, the contract sets up a formal skill progression system that will move the majority of employees into higher-paid categories after working 500 hours in any lower classification. Wages under the agreement range from $8.25/hour for semi-skilled new hires to $16/hour at the top of the highest skill level.