DENVER (CNN) -- Negotiations continued Saturday in an effort to avert a strike between the regional telephone company US West and its unionized workers.

With a strike deadline of midnight Saturday (2 a.m. EDT Sunday), little progress was reported in talks between the Denver-based company and the Communications Workers of America. The dispute centers on the issues of mandatory overtime, scheduling and the company's proposal to link pay to performance.

"There really isn't a lot to report," CWA spokesman Bill Thornburg told CNN.

The company serves about 25 million customers in 14 states in the upper Midwest and Rocky Mountain states. The union represents 34,000 workers. The strike would be the first in the 11-year history of US West, a so-called "Baby Bell" formed by the breakup of AT&T.