Long Island Rail Road Strike: Both Sides Head Back to Table

For the first time in 32 years, the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) the busiest passenger line in the country, is on strike and all service was suspended after five unions and MTA failed to come to terms. At press time, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) had summoned both sides back to the bargaining table.

Governor Kathy Hochul was urging commuters to work from home Monday if possible. As of Sunday morning, she said no talks were underway between the five unions and the MTA since the strike started.

But late on Sunday afternoon, the National Labor Relations Board called both sides back to the bargaining table in an effort to hammer out a deal.

The strike began a minute after midnight on Saturday, May 16 and picket lines quickly went up outside Penn Station, Grand Central and many of the hubs in suburbia.

The economic stakes are high. On Friday, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli estimated the potential Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) strike could cost up to $61 million in lost economic activity each day.

The railroad usually transports 300,000 commuters on an average weekday.

Gov. Kathy Hochul at a press conference outside MTA HQ on the morning of May 17 said no talks had been scheduled with the five striking unions which includes the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers–Transportation Division, the Transportation Communications Union/IAM, the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

Those unions represent 3,200 members out of almost 7,500 LIRR employees. Seven other unions have already settled but were honoring the picket lines of the striking union after the eleventh hour negotiations broke down. The crux of the matter for the striking unions was retroactive pay for the last three years and a five percent pay increase for the current year.

Mayor Zohran Mondani weighed in late Friday night by posting online that New Yorkers should prepare for heavier-than-usual auto traffic, crowded transit options on buses and subways and additional travel time.

At a picket line outside Penn Station, one union member was asked about the LIRR workers commanding the highest salaries of any railroad employees in the nation.

”That’s some people’s opinion,” said the union representative who gave his name as Daryl.

He said he hoped the strike was a short one but had no idea how long it might last. “Even a one day strike is too long,” he said. “It is tough for our customers and it is tough for rank and file members.”

The MTA said the average union employee earns $136,000 a year.

In an exclusive Straus News interview with TWU International President John Samuelsen (and non-voting MTA Board member), he said he was angry with the MTA and Gov. Kathy Hochul. “Here we go again,” said Samuelsen.

The TWU President has publicly stated both political parties have not been union-friendly at times. TWU is one of seven unions that previously settled with the MTA but its members are honoring the picket lines and supporting the five unions on strike

In the case of the current LIRR strike, Samuelsen claimed the current wage recommendations of two Presidential Emergency Boards were rejected by MTA management.

The strike, if it drags on, is likely to be a contentious topic in the race for governor, pitting Nassau County executive Bruce Blakeman, the Republican, vs. Hochul, who is seeking reelection on the Democratic line. Blakeman, an unabashed opponent of congestion pricing, said it should be suspended during the strike since more people will be forced to drive with the railroad shut down.

When asked about suspending congestion pricing during the strike, Hochul said that under Federal laws, “there is no legal way to do that.”

MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber noted after the talks broke off: “The unions have those outrageous work rules that allow these workers to pile up overtime, rules that they have refused to even discuss at the bargaining table.” Last year’s LIRR overtime was almost $12 million, he said.

At the same Sunday morning press conference, in addition to Lieber, Governor Hochul was joined by LIRR President Rob Free and NYC Transit President Demetrius Chrichlow; the mood was far from ebullient.

Rather than outlining any back-to-the-bargaining table news, Hochul and the MTA management presented plans for the start of the work week commute for LIRR riders without the railroad operating.

The MTA said it will provide limited free shuttle bus service for essential workers and those who cannot telecommute, during peak hours to Manhattan from 4:30 to 9 a.m. and to Long Island from 3 to 7 p.m. to/from Bay Shore, Huntington, Ronkonkoma, Lakeview, Hicksville and Mineola on Long Island to subway stops in Queens, with limited reverse peak service available on the first Suffolk County locations. Parking will be available at Citifield, train service on the #7 will run almost every two minutes, the A train will run almost every 4 minutes.

But if commuters miss those windows, they will have to find their own means of transportation. And for reverse commuters seeking to reach Long Island destinations in the morning, there is no shuttle service from Penn Station or Grand Central Madison.

Hochul requested that the unions come back to the bargaining table. “You are invited to come back in, I’ll supply the refreshments.”

But other than refreshments, she did not advance any new proposals to entice the unions to resume talks and appeared to be taking a hard line in the negotiations. “I put the MTA on stable financial grounds. I worked hard to do that, and I don’t want that undone. I will not let that be undone.”