A strike deadline of noon on Monday set by the Transport Workers Union threatened to shut down Philadelphia's trains, buses and trolleys.
Negotiations broke off on Saturday morning and no new talks were scheduled on a contract to replace the one that expired on March 14. The contract covered 5,100 drivers and mechanics in the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority's city division. Among the sticking points that remained were health benefits, pensions, work rules and the hiring of part-time workers.
Some 320 suburban transit workers whose contracts expired in April also would strike, posing travel headaches throughout the region.
In addition to all city service, a strike could affect buses and trains in Delaware, Bucks and Montgomery Counties. Maintenance workers would walk off the job in the transportation authority's Victory division in Delaware County, where the United Transportation Union has settled a contract for vehicle operators. The United Transportation Union has said it will honor transport workers' picket lines.
All workers in the transportation authority's Frontier division in Montgomery and Bucks Counties would join the strike, said Bruce Bodner, the transport workers' business agent.