After an all-night bargaining session with workers threatening to strike beginning today over wages, hours and benefits, Macy’s reached a tentative deal to avert a walkout at its New York-area stores.

The department-store giant — which hasn’t seen a strike since 1972 — reached the agreement just hours before key stores, including its flagship in Herald Square, were slated to open this morning. The new contract, which covers 4,000 workers, also covers three stores in the Bronx, Queens and Westchester.

Details of the agreement, which replaces a five-year contract that expired at 11:59pm last night, weren’t immediately available.

Key sticking points had included entry-level pay, pension and healthcare benefits, and work scheduling policies.

“This is a solid contract,” said Ken Bordieri, president of local 1-S of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which said the agreement will be subject to voting of its members that will extend into the middle of next week.

Macy’s spokeswoman Elina Kazan said the company’s New York-area stores will be open for business “without interruption” during the vote. The new agreement “addresses the economic and business realities of the retailing industry, while keeping jobs at Macy’s among the best in the department store industry,” Kazan said.