Negotiations will resume Tuesday between Con Edison and the union that represents 9,000 workers.

Gov. David Paterson intervened late Saturday to help avoid a strike after both sides failed to reach an agreement. Talks between Utility Workers Union of America Local 1-2 and Con Ed have gone down to the wire in the past. The last strike took place in the early 1980s.

Some sticking points in the negotiations, according to Utility Workers Union of America, are the amount of years it takes for some employees to get to top salary scales, the amount of money workers are expected to contribute toward their medical care and retirement plan options.

Customers, who've recently experienced outages due to high winds and heavy rains, say now is not the time for a strike."I think they already get too much money for the service they provide and it would be a shame to have a strike," says one customer.

Others were more sympathetic, saying the utility workers need better pay and benefits like everyone else during this trying economy.

A new strike deadline is set for Tuesday at midnight.