Updated

Several Phoenix-area cities will be forced to go without bus service beginning at midnight Thursday after hundreds of drivers rejected a contract proposal.

Leaders of the Amalgated Transit Union Local 1433 told MyFoxPhoenix.com that 95 percent of the drivers voted against the deal offered by bus operators First Transit Wednesday.

A strike would stop bus service on 40 routes in the cities of Tempe, Mesa, Chandler and Gilbert, as well as some routes in Scottsdale and Ahwatukee Foothills and express service from those communities to downtown Phoenix and Scottsdale.

Union officials said that the contract offered by the Valley Metro Regional Public Transit Authority required workers to contribute more to their health care plans and gave the authority greater autonomy to fire union workers.

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