Members of Transport Workers Union of America Local 208 will vote on the same tentative pact they rejected Monday night. It would give the workers a 7 percent pay increase over three years but would require a modest contribution toward pensions.

The Columbus Dispatch reported that union president Andrew Jordan said the union's executive board voted unanimously to ask members to reconsider the contract deal.

"There was a misunderstanding of the membership, and everyone wasn't able to vote," Jordan said. "Some didn't understand everything that was in the package."

The strike affected the Fourth of July celebration and fireworks show Tuesday in downtown Columbus. Hundreds of thousands of people were originally expected to show up for the annual "Red, White and Boom" fireworks event. But attendance was expected to be lower because of the strike.

Bus shelters near the Statehouse that are normally packed with commuters during the morning rush were empty on Tuesday. Parking along the streets was limited as drivers were banned from meters along the city's Independence Day parade route.

About 26,000 people rode buses to and from the event last year, according to transit authority officials.

The possible nightmare of hard-to-find parking was enough to turn away Erin Miller and her family. The Westerville resident said she and her husband and two young daughters go every year to the fireworks show by taking a COTA bus.

"It's been very convenient in the past," said the 37-year-old. "But this year we're not going. We don't want to have to deal with traffic and parking. So we're just going to watch it on TV."

Miller said her family usually watches the fireworks from Huntington Park near downtown Columbus because it offers a special entrance rate if attendees take the bus.

"It would have saved us money if COTA had been running," she said. "Now it's just too much money, and too much hassle."

Sammi Jo Giglio, a 45-year-old hairdresser from Carroll, said she also planned to skip the event. She worried about a rowdy crowd forming as visitors try to get home.

"This strike is just going to make tempers worse," she said. "There's going to be a little more frustration out there, and I don't want to be a part of it."

Dan Williamson, spokesman for Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman, said the city had no contingency plans for the popular event.

"In terms of buses, there's no Plan B," he said. "Buses are not going to appear out of thin air. But people can help by the decisions they make. They just have to be creative about how they get here."

Temperatures around the Columbus area hovered around 90 degrees on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. A heat advisory was in place, and officials recommended people stay hydrated and find air conditioning.

Many area residents were still dealing with no power in their homes after two rounds of weekend thunderstorms. Utility crews say they're working to restore service for more than 261,900 people in central and southwest Ohio.

The transit authority's board of trustees held a special meeting Tuesday but COTA spokesman Marty Stutz said the board took no action. It continued to discuss the strike.

"We will not allow the union to hold this community hostage," transit authority President W. Curtis Stitt said in a statement following Monday's vote. He pledged to continue working to get "much needed transit service back on the streets for our customers."