About 3,500 employees of New York’s Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) walked off the job on Saturday, halting service on the nation’s busiest commuter rail system. The strike involves five unions and includes locomotive engineers, machinists, signalmen and other workers.
The work stoppage is the first LIRR strike in 32 years. The system carries nearly 300,000 passengers a day, linking New York City and its boroughs with suburban Long Island, and the shutdown is expected to cause major disruption for weekend and weekday travel.
Union leaders said the dispute centers on pay and health care premiums. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has said rail workers have gone three years without raises during the bargaining process. Kevin Sexton, National Vice President of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, said no new talks are currently scheduled and added, “We’re far apart at this point,” while expressing regret at the situation.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) pushed back, with chairman Janno Lieber saying the agency had offered what the unions asked for in terms of pay and suggesting the walkout may have been premeditated. The MTA also warned that the unions’ initial demands would have required fare increases.
Officials warned of significant commuter chaos if the strike continues into the work week, when already-congested highways could see much heavier traffic. The LIRR strike also risks affecting large local events this weekend, including playoff games and baseball matchups that draw suburban fans into Manhattan.
To ease immediate hardship, the MTA said it would provide a limited number of free shuttle buses during rush hours for essential workers. New York Governor Kathy Hochul urged people who can work from home to do so and criticized union leadership for what she called “unnecessary dysfunction,” adding that thousands of LIRR workers would be losing paychecks because of the walkout. She said she stands with riders and will work to protect the long-term stability of the MTA.
Negotiations remain at an impasse, and both sides say they are far apart on key issues. The strike underscores tensions over labor costs and service funding in a region heavily dependent on commuter rail.