A Sunday night deadline has come and gone, but Southern California supermarkets remain open and grocery store workers remain on the job as negotiations continue on into the night between the union representing 62,000 workers and major grocery store chains Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons, according to City News Service.

More from The San Francisco Chronicle:

The three-day notice period required before calling a strike elapsed at 7:10 p.m. PDT, but the talks went on.

"They're still at the table, they're gonna stay at the table until they feel there's no more progress being made," United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770 spokesman Mike Shimpock told The Associated Press after the deadline. "As long as we feel there is reason to be at the bargaining table we're going to stay there."

Grocers had similar sentiments as the deadline passed.

"Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons are still at the table with the union. Progress is being made, but we do not yet have an agreement," Albertsons said in a statement. "Even though the 72-hour notice period has expired, nothing has changed. The terms of our most recent contract — including wages and benefits — remain in place, and our stores are open to serve customers as they usually are. We are still hopeful that a contract will be reached soon."

On Sunday night, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa urged both sides to continue negotiations. "As Mayor, I've had to make hard decisions during these tough economic times to close a $1.5 billion deficit,'' he said in a statement. ``We have laid off a record 4,600 employees. This year, fortunately, we were able to avoid layoffs and furloughs by negotiating a new agreement with out unions. Through their partnership and leadership, employees agreed to pay more for health care to stay on the job. And we agreed to find other ways to save money and jobs.''