Questions grow over how to fund potential LIRR worker raises as strike deadline nears
LIRR President Rob Free said management has already offered what it considers a fair contract, but unions are pushing for higher wage increases.
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With just weeks remaining before a possible Long Island Rail Road strike, MTA officials say a deal with unions is still within reach — but how to pay for it is coming into question.
LIRR President Rob Free said management has already offered what it considers a fair contract, but unions are pushing for higher wage increases.
“We’ve offered a fair and reasonable contract. The unions want more and we’re trying to work with them to see how we can afford it,” Free said. He added, “Planning for or accommodating pay increases that aren’t in the current budget does create cost. And who’s going to pay for it?”
Union leaders insist the MTA can afford the raises, pointing to the findings of the latest Presidential Emergency Board. In its report, the board wrote that “there is nothing in the record to lead us to conclude that the Carrier cannot afford the increase proposed by the Organizations.”
So far, there has been no proposal to raise train fares specifically to cover higher wages.
Both sides have agreed on wage increases for the first three years of the contract but remain divided over the fourth year. MTA management has floated changes to certain work rules in exchange for higher pay, but unions have resisted. One contested rule grants engineers an extra day’s salary if they operate two different types of trains during the same shift.
The MTA and union representatives are scheduled to meet again on Monday.
Workers could go off the job as early as May 16.
