No contract negotiation talks have been scheduled between Long Island Railroad workers, represented by a coalition of five unions, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority as a strike looms for workers on the transit system, which carries more than 300,000 daily passengers.
Representatives from the coalition of five unions said in a release that, despite the May 16, 12:01 a.m. strike deadline, the MTA didn’t seem concerned about preventing the strike. The coalition leaders said they wanted to hold contract negotiations on May 12, but “representatives from the transit agency said they would be unavailable.”
Bargaining talks were scheduled to resume as the AmNews went to press on May 13, with negotiations still at a stalemate. Union members vowed to attend the negotiations, but said their rank-and-file members were also scheduled to begin preparing strike picket signs at IBEW Local 589 in Patchogue, N.Y.
The union coalition includes the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS), International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and Transportation Communications Union (TCU). Together they represent engineers, signal workers, machinists, electricians, and other essential crafts.
Both the MTA and LIRR workers say they are aligned about retroactive raises for the first three years of a new contract: 3% for 2023, 3% for 2024, and 3.5% for 2025. The standoff has been over the last year. The unions want 5%; the MTA is offering 3% and says going higher would strain the agency’s finances and could hit riders with higher costs.
MTA officials also point to work rules they say drive up costs, including extra pay for engineers who operate different types of trains in a single day. Without changes, the agency argues, it can’t responsibly raise its wage offer. Union leaders counter that trading away protections without a stronger final-year raise would leave workers falling behind in one of the country’s most expensive regions. The unions have not seen a raise since their last contract expired in April 2022.
On the MTA’s Instagram page, the agency advised riders to “work from home, if possible. The MTA will provide limited shuttle bus service on weekdays for essential workers and those who cannot telecommute.”