LIRR strike looms as MTA warns of possible fare hikes to pay for employee raises
The impromptu talks were set in motion during an MTA board meeting in Manhattan, where tensions briefly flared.
With just over two weeks remaining before a potential Long Island Rail Road strike, MTA officials and union leaders publicly sparred over contract talks, before agreeing to impromptu negotiations.
Union leaders say their members are prepared to walk off the job at 12:01 a.m. on May 16, the earliest moment permitted. They are seeking a 14.5% wage increase over four years, while the MTA has countered with a 12.5% raise over the same period.
MTA Chief Financial Officer Jai Patel warned that meeting the unions’ demands could significantly strain the agency’s budget. According to Patel, each additional percentage point in wage increases adds roughly $100 million in expenses. As a result, she said riders could face an 8% fare hike next year, double the 4% increase already planned.
Patel noted that the agency could fund raises if unions agreed to changes in certain work rules—an idea union leaders have resisted, arguing the MTA can afford the raises without concessions.
The dispute took an unexpected turn during Wednesday’s MTA board meeting, when union representatives confronted agency leaders, prompting an unscheduled bargaining session.
“We have made compromises in our ask and are ready to sit down at the bargaining table to reach an agreement now,” said Gilman Lang of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. “However, an agreement cannot be reached when one side refuses to come to the table.”
MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber pushed back, calling suggestions that the agency has avoided negotiations “nonsense” and inviting union leaders to meet immediately.
Commuters, meanwhile, are watching anxiously as the deadline approaches.
“I hope they get an agreement and this doesn’t happen,” said Alex Valentin of Centereach. “Because it’s going to hurt a lot of people.”
MTA officials say the two sides have agreed to additional talks but have not announced when they would take place.
As negotiations resume, the MTA has also released its contingency plan should a strike occur. Shuttle buses would transport commuters from designated pickup points on Long Island to subway stations in Queens. The planned routes include:
Huntington to Jamaica–179th Street (F line)
Ronkonkoma to Jamaica–179th Street (F line)
Hicksville to Howard Beach–JFK Airport (A line)
Mineola to Howard Beach–JFK Airport (A line)
Hempstead Lake State Park to Howard Beach–JFK Airport (A line)
News 12's Daniella Rodriguez-Rebolledo has more on the contingency plan:
