As the strike was threatened late last week, many companies put contingency plans into action to allow workers to telecommute, share rides to work or take company-provided private transportation to get to their offices.

Many workers used ride-sharing resources on Web sites such as Craigslist.com to offer or seek rides as the city's subways and buses stopped running.

'Probably like most companies in the securities industry, we have very robust contingency plans,' said Selena Morris, a spokeswoman for Merrill Lynch & Co., which has about 9,000 workers in the city. By the time the strike began early Tuesday morning, Merrill Lynch had rented private shuttle buses and set up routes to pick up workers and bring them to its offices in lower Manhattan while also making arrangements with many of its workers who have been telecommuting since the strike began, she said.

The strike, which has been accompanied by frigid winter temperatures, has forced employees to walk to work in subfreezing temperatures, she said, but overall, operations have been unaffected.

'I would say it's business as usual,' Morris said.