A contract expired Tuesday night for workers at a Merck ($MRK) plant in Montgomery County near Philadelphia, but the 2,000 union employees and management will keep negotiating, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Union President Mark "Isy" Snyder recently informed workers that the company would like to go to 12-hour shifts since some processes take longer than 8 hours. "In reality, 12-hour shifts mean less jobs, less pay, disruption of family life, etc.," Snyder wrote in a newsletter. The drugmaker yesterday announced disappointing earnings with first-quarter sales off 9% to $10.7 billion, as generics ate away at sales of its blockbuster Singulair. Story | More