PHILADELPHIA – SEPTA and union workers are negotiating, and the two sides are reporting that there will be no strike at midnight due to progress made in negotiations.

By 10pm on Thursday, talks were said to have been positive and the two sides had, according to Transport Workers Union Local 234 President Brian Pollitt, done the following in a statement to the union: “We have made progress in the 24-hour negotiations.”

SEPTA then released their own statement, saying:

“SEPTA and TWU Local 234 will continue negotiations on a new contract tomorrow, Friday, November 8. In the meantime, there will be no strike by City Transit Division employees when their current contract expires at midnight, so all SEPTA service will continue to operate according to normal timetable.”

Meanwhile, parents were very concerned about the consequences of a possible strike for their children. Marlene Idopcil said: “Unfortunately they all take the bus. Mom can’t take everyone to school.’

She said her four children rely on SEPTA to attend school in Center City, North Philly and in the Northeast.

Since June, Transport Workers Union Local 234 has been in contract negotiations with SEPTA for higher wages and workplace safety. It is the largest union at SEPTA with 5,000 members representing operators of city buses, trolleys, the Market-Frankford Line and Broad Street Line.

A strike would affect all these services.

Union leaders are proposing a one-year deal with a 10 percent wage increase, but SEPTA says it faces a significant financial crisis.

SEPTA spokesman Andrew Busch explained, “We’re looking at a budget deficit of about a quarter of a billion dollars and that’s about 20 percent of all our spending for the year and that’s what it takes every day to keep the system running.”

Pollitt noted, “It’s funny how SEPTA tells you about the fiscal cliff and the $200 million deficit, but what they don’t tell you is the $600 million in a rainy day fund. We’re not asking for $600 million, but we’re asking for a little bit.”