NASHUA, N.H. – FairPoint Communications workers remain on the job under an expired contract after negotiations broke off over the weekend.

Mike Spillane from Local 2326 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Vermont said Saturday that talks will resume in the coming days. On Sunday, a FairPoint spokeswoman said the two sides remain far apart, and the company is considering its options.

Union workers are unhappy with proposed changes to health and retirement benefits, as well as changes aimed at allowing greater use of nonunion workers.

The company, which bought Verizon’s landline telephone operations seven years ago, says its benefits are out of sync with industry norms.

Based in North Carolina, FairPoint has struggled to become profitable since emerging from bankruptcy in 2011.