Vanderbilt union members on Friday voted 181 to 23 to ratify a labor contract that runs until Nov. 15, 2012. The agreement comes after nearly six months of negotiations between Vanderbilt workers and administration, according to a release from the union.

Among the changes are an immediate pay raise of 2.75 percent, which includes back pay to November 2010, and an additional 2 percent raise starting Nov. 15 of this year. For more on the contract details, visit the union's website. From the release:

"I’m proud of my co-workers on the negotiating committee who worked so hard to make progress," said Tim Higdon, an Electrician Journeyman who was elected to the negotiating committee. "It was definitely hard and tedious work negotiating with the administration. We corrected some contract language that that just didn’t make sense. We still have a long way to go. There are still major issues that need to be addressed to make Vanderbilt a better place to work, but we made progress. I know that the standards we are raising will not only improve the lives of Union represented workers and their families, but lift standards for all Vanderbilt workers and makes Vanderbilt a better place to work."