Contract negotiations are set to resume Wednesday between SEPTA and the union representing thousands of workers, more than three weeks after the union voted to authorize a strike .

Transport Workers Union Local 234, which represents 5,000 subway, trolley and bus operators and mechanics, is scheduled to meet with SEPTA at 10 a.m.

The union has been working without a contract since Nov. 7. Sticking points of the current negotiations include better sick pay for workers and a two-year contract, instead of just one.

If a deal can't be met, John Samuelsen, international president of TWU, warned that a strike could "shut Philly down."

"We all authorize a strike," SEPTA body mechanic Lyle Smith said last month. "If it happens, it happens. Sorry for the public, but we gotta do what we gotta

See Full Page