The workers' contract expires a 11:59 p.m. Saturday, and company officials are optimistic a deal can be reached, the Boston Herald reported.

"We are expecting a settlement," Verizon spokesman Phil Santoro told the newspaper.

Workers, however, were not so sure an agreement could be reached Saturday. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers spokesman Paul Feeney said the two sides are "so far apart on so many issues, we may run out of time."

A strike is "still an option," he told the Herald, adding, however, that it may be possible to extend the negotiations deadline, much like the two sides did five years ago when the last contract expired.