Patient care employees of the University of California’s largest union voted this week to officially ratify their new contract with the UC, ending an unusually long and difficult series of collective bargaining negotiations.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees 3299 union reached an agreement with the UC Sunday on a contract for its about 13,000 patient care workers. The union notified the UC Friday that its members voted to accept the contract. Sunday’s agreement averted a five-day strike that would have occurred this week at the UC’s hospitals.

Since the two parties began negotiating a patient care worker contract in late 2012, relations between the two were characterized by distrust and disagreement. They have disagreed over wages, safe staffing levels, pension, healthcare and more. Last year, AFSCME went on strike twice to protest ongoing negotiations for its patient care and service workers.

AFSCME claimed the University had committed unfair labor practices and was not paying its workers enough, since it said many of its workers qualify for welfare. The University said the union threatened hospital safety with its strikes and that the union was asking for special treatment compared to other unions. Both sides said the other misrepresented what the central issue at hand was and both claimed the other was responsible for unnecessarily prolonging contract negotiations.

Negotiations between AFSCME and the UC took several months longer than it did for other unions that reached agreements similar to AFSCME’s.

“We are disappointed that this process took as long as it did and became so contentious,” said Dwaine Duckett, vice president of UC human resources in a statement released Friday. “These (other) contracts were achieved in less time and with significantly less stress and uncertainty for workers at our hospitals.”

Unlike contracts with other unions, AFSCME’s patient care worker contract includes a freeze on some healthcare rates. It also includes a total 24.5 percent increase in wages over four years, a contract ratification bonus, a freeze on health care rates for lower-salaried employees, measures to improve job security for employees and a pension formula similar to the one for unionized nurses.

“With this ratified agreement, we’ve taken an important step to improving staffing and safety levels at UC hospitals,” said Todd Stenhouse, AFSCME 3299 spokesman. “It’s unfortunate that it took so long to get there but I think the agreement shows the importance of good faith compromise.”

Compiled by Kristen Taketa, Bruin senior staff.