About 3,500 workers from five unions walked off the job Saturday, the first LIRR strike since 1994, affecting roughly 300,000 daily commuters.
10:42 PM
The Long Island Rail Road, North America's busiest commuter rail system, shut down Saturday after approximately 3,500 workers from five unions walked off the job at 12:01 a.m., marking the first strike at the carrier in 32 years.
The strike halted service across the railroad, which serves New York City and its eastern suburbs and typically carries nearly 300,000 daily passengers. All train service was suspended indefinitely after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the state agency that operates the LIRR, and union negotiators failed to reach a contract agreement by a late Friday night deadline following two days of marathon negotiations.
The unions involved represent roughly half the railroad's workforce and include the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, which represents over 500 locomotive engineers at the railroad. The Teamsters represent the BLET members in the bargaining coalition.
Contract negotiations centered on workers' salaries and healthcare premiums. Union leaders said raises in the fourth year of the proposed contract were the sticking point preventing a deal. The Teamsters noted that locomotive engineers have gone three years without raises throughout the bargaining process.
Teamsters General President Sean M. O'Brien said in a statement that union workers had "sacrificed so much for the railroad for years while consistently bargaining in good faith for a fair contract." Mark Wallace, President of the BLET and the Teamsters Rail Conference, stated that "this strike would not have happened if the MTA and LIRR offered our members the reasonable terms the government recommended multiple times."
Gil Lang, General Chairman of the BLET's LIRR General Committee, said workers did not want to strike but felt compelled to do so. "After three years without raises, we cannot make any more compromises to cover for the MTA's mismanagement," Lang said.
The Trump administration attempted to broker a deal before the strike deadline, but unions were legally permitted to strike beginning at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority released a contingency plan for commuters. Shuttle buses will run to and from six LIRR stations to subway transfer points in Queens during peak weekday hours: to Manhattan from 4:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. and to Long Island from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. The MTA urged riders to work from home if possible, noting that shuttle bus service would not fully replace train service.
LIRR President Robert Free said all trains already in service would arrive at their final destinations despite the work stoppage.
More than 100 workers picketed at Ronkonkoma Station on Saturday morning, one of Long Island's typically busiest transit hubs. Picket lines also began at 7 a.m. at the East End Gateway entrance to Penn Station.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said the LIRR is essential to the region. "Every day it carries nearly 300,000 commuters and without this service, life on Long Island as we know it is not possible," Hochul said.
The last LIRR strike occurred in 1994.
Long Island Rail Road workers and the MTA have not reached a deal ahead of a potential Saturday midnight strike affecting 300,000 daily commuters.
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