Unions representing thousands of Long Island Rail Road workers are set to rally Saturday amid a dispute with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority that could trigger their first strike in decades.
The five LIRR workers unions said the demonstration at Massapequa Station in Nassau County is part of a day of action after contract negotiations with the MTA stalled.
The rally is set to start at around 10 a.m.
Without a deal, the commuter rail’s first strike since June 1994 could start as soon as May 16, affecting hundreds of thousands of daily riders.
Where negotiations stand
Negotiations are ongoing, but the sides have been giving different narratives about how the talks are progressing.
The unions said Friday that talks stalled. But the MTA said they got closer to an agreement and were waiting for the union to respond to new proposals.
“It’s time for everyone to get serious about the fact that if you go on strike for one day, you are literally flushing money down the toilet for your workers, and I don’t think these unions really want to do that. We are close enough that we should be able to resolve this,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said.
The MTA said it offered a 3% pay raise, while the unions said they’re asking for 5%. The agency warned the 2% gap could lead to increased fares systemwide, including on the LIRR, Metro-North Railroad, and New York City subways and buses.
In response to Lieber’s statement, the unions said there was no urgency from the MTA and no official talks were scheduled until Monday.
“We wanted to negotiate over the last 40 days … so that we wouldn’t be facing this. Unfortunately, we have not had a willing partner,” said Gil Lang, general chairman for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.
Lieber said he expected casual discussions to occur over the weekend.
LIRR strike contingency plan
The MTA shared its initial Long Island Rail Road strike contingency plan for some 300,000 riders on its website.
In the event of a shutdown, it says shuttle bus service would be provided from five Long Island locations to subway stations in Queens:
Bay Shore (LIRR) to Howard Beach-JFK Airport AHempstead Lake State Park, near Lakeview (LIRR), to Howard Beach-JFK Airport AHicksville (LIRR) to Howard Beach-JFK Airport AHuntington (LIRR) to Jamaica-179 St F at Hillside Av and 179 StMineola (LIRR) to Howard Beach-JFK Airport ARonkonkoma (LIRR) to Jamaica-179 St F at Hillside Av and 179 St
The agency also encouraged riders to work from home during the strike, if possible.