1 of 2 | Officials in the city and state of New York are warning of travel disruptions this week while about 3,500 Long Island Rail Road workers strike. File Photo by Marc A. Hermann/MTA New York City Transit Handout /UPI | License Photo
Officials in the city and state of New York are warning of travel disruptions this week while about 3,500 Long Island Rail Road workers strike.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani urged people to prepare for additional travel time due to the disruptions of LIRR routes. Gov. Kathy Hochul says the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is preparing emergency routes to assist weekday commuters.
“We have a plan in place to help essential workers get to the city and minimize disruptions as much as possible,” Hochul posted on social media.
About 250,000 people use the LIRR rail system each weekday, boarding 947 trains. On Saturday, the system stopped as workers began their strike for fair wages following a breakdown in negotiations between MTA and the unions.
MTA buses have a capacity for about 13,000 passengers in the morning and 13,000 in the afternoon. Shuttle bus routes began at about 4:30 a.m. EDT on Monday. They are connecting commuters from six locations in Nassau and Suffolk counties to the subway in Queens, N.Y.
The strike is the first by LIRR workers in about 30 years, bringing one of the country’s busiest public rail systems to a halt.
There are five unions representing striking workers, said Jim Louis, national vice president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainman.
“The only way that we can get an agreement is for the MTA to understand that all our membership is asking for is to just try to keep their heads above water with the standard of living,” Louis said.
Hochul said the wage increases the unions are asking for could result in increased fares and higher taxes.
“New York is a pro-labor state,” she said. “We believe in working men and women receiving a fair wage and benefits, but the MTA cannot agree to a contract that would raise fares as much as 8% and risk hiking taxes for Long Islanders.”
This week in Washington
Vice President JD Vance speaks during a news conference on anti-fraud initiatives in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House on Wednesday. Photo by Daniel Heuer/UPI | License Photo
