PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- SEPTA and its largest workers union have reached a contract agreement, preventing a strike that would have halted Philadelphia's mass transit in the middle of the holiday season.

The two-year deal includes an across-the-board 3.5 percent wage increase in each year of the agreement, an increase in pension benefits, and improvements to benefits for new employees.

TWU Local 234 issued a statement Monday afternoon that said it was the involvement of Gov. Josh Shapiro that broke the stalemate and averted a walkout.

As recently as Friday it appeared a strike was all but inevitable , with union leaders saying a strike was "imminent" at a late afternoon news conference.

The proposed contract will go to union members for ratification. A vote will be scheduled for lat

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