PHILADELPHIA – SEPTA and its largest union are still trying to reach an agreement to prevent more than 5,000 employees from walking off the job.

FOX 29’s Steve Keeley has the latest on the status of the discussions Monday evening.

SEPTA buses and subways are still running tonight, and they will continue to run tomorrow morning to get to schools and work for the thousands of riders who rely on SEPTA.

Its workers say they will continue working as long as negotiators continue to talk and gradually move toward an agreement.

Tuesday will be the fourth day SEPTA drivers have worked without a contract, as negotiations continue following the vote authorizing a strike.

They put some of the reasons on the neon sign at their union hall, for all to see as they pass it on I-95, that says “Standing out on safety and security equals a SEPTA strike “.

This comes just a year after SEPTA bus driver Bernard Gribbin was shot and killed by a passenger who got off the bus, turned around and fired six shots, killing the driver.

It was just three months after a fellow passenger shot another SEPTA bus driver in the windshield after an argument over fare.

SEPTA drivers are not just asking for a raise, but want SEPTA to increase the level of safety for its 4,500 frontline workers facing a growing crosshairs of abuse and violence.

Union sources say that while SEPTA has made some progress on safety, there has been no progress on wages.

SEPTA says that while they want to work with the union, it is facing a significant financial crisis, with a quarter-billion-dollar budget deficit.

Negotiators will meet again Tuesday with parents of SEPTA’s biggest customers, the 55,000 schoolchildren who rely on SEPTA to get to school each day, and will also monitor the negotiations.

Just 16 days before the holiday season begins with Thanksgiving, no one involved says they want their holiday cheer ruined by having to walk to schools and work or walk picket lines.