Still no deal in LIRR contract talks as strike deadline nears
The core disagreements center on salary and proposed changes to several long‑standing work rules.
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With less than a month to go before a possible Long Island Rail Road strike, negotiations between the MTA and five unions appear to be at a standstill — leaving commuters anxious about what could happen next.
Gilman Lang, of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen - one of the five unions involved in the dispute - says talks have been stagnant. According to Lang, the two sides have not met since March 20. When asked if a strike can be averted, Lang said, “At this point, I don’t believe so. The railroad has not come to the table. They have not bargained.”
The MTA disputes that characterization. Anita Miller, the agency’s Chief Labor and Employee Relations Officer, said a bargaining session is already scheduled for next Monday before the National Mediation Board.
“We will do our negotiating there,” she wrote in a statement.
The core disagreements center on salary and proposed changes to several long‑standing work rules. One of the most contentious rules grants engineers extra pay when they operate more than one type of train — switching between diesel and electric — during the same shift. The MTA wants to eliminate that bonus in exchange for higher wages.
MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber has argued that the current system is outdated and costly. Paying workers more “just because they drove a diesel train and an electric train on a single day outrages the public and is a waste of public resources," he said at a recent board meeting.
Union leaders, however, say they will not trade away work rules to maintain wages.
“Our goal was to maintain real wage for the period,” Lang said. “We’re not willing to sell back work rules to do that.”
The earliest date a strike could begin is May 16.
