NEW YORK (AP) — The Long Island Rail Road, North America’s largest commuter rail system, was shut down Saturday after unionized workers went on strike for the first time in three decades.
The railroad, which serves New York City and its eastern suburbs, ceased operations just after midnight after five unions representing about half its workforce walked off the job.
The unions and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the public agency that runs the railroad, have been negotiating for months on a new contract, with talks stalled over the question of workers’ salaries and healthcare premiums. President Donald Trump’s administration tried to broker a deal, but the unions were legally allowed to strike starting at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.
Kevin Sexton, national vice president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, said no new negotiations have been scheduled.
“We’re far apart at this point,” Sexton said early Saturday. “We are truly sorry that we are in this situation.”
MTA Chairman Janno Lieber said the agency “gave the union everything they said they wanted in terms of pay” and that to him it was apparent the unions always intended to walk out.
First LIRR Walkout Since 1994
The walkout, the first for the LIRR since a two-day strike in 1994, promises to cause headaches for sports fans planning to see the Yankees and Mets battle this weekend or to watch the Knicks’ playoff run at Madison Square Garden, which is located directly above the railroad’s Penn Station hub in Manhattan.
The railroad’s Manhattan hub, Penn Station, was devoid of its usual weekend bustle on Saturday afternoon. Only a few dozen people were seen traversing the main concourse, many dragging rolling luggage from departing or arriving Amtrak trains, which aren’t affected by the strike.
Departure boards normally showing upcoming trains by destination instead listed ghost trains marked “No Passengers.” A few signs affixed to customer service windows explained that the railroad was shut down because of a strike.
Access to platforms was blocked off with bicycle-rack style barricades and roll-down gates as MTA police officers stood sentry, directing people to alternative transportation.
Shutdown Could Severely Disrupt Weekday Commuting
If the shutdown continues into the workweek, the roughly 250,000 people who ri the system to and from work each weekday will be forced to find other routes to the city from its Long Island suburbs. For many, that likely means navigating the region’s notoriously congested roads.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, blamed the Trump administration for cutting mediation short and pushing the negotiations toward a strike. Trump, a Republican, responded on his Truth Social platform on Saturday that he had nothing to do with the strike and “never even heard about it until this morning.”
“No, Kathy, it’s your fault, and now looking over the facts, you should not have allowed this to happen,” Trump wrote, renewing his endorsement of Long Island politician Bruce Blakeman, who’s challenging Hochul’s reelection bid. “If you can’t solve it, let me know, and I’ll show you how to properly get things done.”
Hochul urged Long Islanders to work from home if possible. The MTA has said it will provide limited shuttle buses to New York City subway stations, but that contingency plan wasn’t envisioned to handle all the riders the system normally carries on a workday.
And while remote work options greatly expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic, many workers still need to show up in person, said Lisa Daglian, executive director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, a commuter advocacy group.
“You work in construction, you work in the healthcare industry, you work at a school or you’re about to graduate from school, that’s not always possible,” she said of telecommuting. “People need to get where they need to go.”
Dave Sumner, a locomotive engineer of 32 years, said he anticipates Trump or Congress will step in before strikes goes on much longer.
“We’re pretty vital to this area,” he said.
The MTA has said the unions’ initial demands to raise salaries would have led to fare increases and impacted contract negotiations with other unionized workers.
The unions, which represent locomotive engineers, machinists, signalmen and other train workers, have said more substantial raises were warranted to help workers keep up with inflation and rising living costs.
Duane O’Connor, who was picketing on Saturday morning at Penn Station, said that while he regrets the impact on commuters, workers are simply asking for fair wages.
“I feel terrible. Terrible. This is going to hurt. This is going to hurt the island, this is going to hurt the city … All we are asking for is fair wages,” he said.
“We’re pretty much three years without a contract,” said Karl Bischoff, who has been a locomotive engineer for LIRR for 29 years. “If they did their contracts for their construction stuff like that, this place would be in worse condition.”
If the unions get the pay increases they are looking for, “it will come at the expense of our riders who will see next year’s 4% fare increase doubled to 8%,” Gerard Bringmann, chair of the LIRR Commuter Council, a rider advocacy group, said in a statement. “Like the union workers, we too are burdened by the increase in the cost of living here on Long Island.”
With Hochul running for reelection, the pressure might be on the MTA to strike a deal to end the shutdown, said William Dwyer, a labor relations expert at Rutgers University in New Jersey, where commuter rail workers staged a three-day strike last year.
“She’s up for reelection, and Long Island is a critical vote for her,” he said. “So if there’s a significant fare hike, that does not bode well for her on Election Day.”