{"id":800173,"date":"2026-05-16T08:29:52","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T08:29:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/800173\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T08:29:52","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T08:29:52","slug":"lirr-strike-begins-after-mta-failed-to-reach-wage-increase-deal-with-union-disrupting-300k-commuters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/800173\/","title":{"rendered":"LIRR strike begins after MTA failed to reach wage increase deal with union, disrupting 300K commuters"},"content":{"rendered":"

Long Island Rail Road workers went on strike<\/a> early Saturday after Metropolitan Transportation Authority leaders failed to reach a deal on wage hikes with five labor unions.<\/p>\n

More than 3,500 LIRR workers across five unions, including engineers, signalmen and trainman, walked off the job at 12:01 a.m. Saturday after a heated drawn-out battle over pay raises<\/a>, with union leaders arguing higher wages are needed to keep up with inflation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe LIRR owns this strike,\u201d Teamsters general president Sean M. O\u2019Brien said in a statement Saturday. <\/a><\/p>\n

LIRR workers protest outside of Penn Station after the strike began on May 16, 2026. Christopher Sadowski for NY Post<\/p>\n

The work stoppage is expected to strand nearly 300,000 commuters, with limited shuttle buses available for essential workers and those who can\u2019t telecommute on weekdays. Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cUnion workers have sacrificed so much for the railroad for years while consistently bargaining in good faith for a fair contract. The LIRR is stranding passengers while denying wages, benefits, and respect to the BLET Teamsters and other hardworking union members.\u201d<\/p>\n

The work stoppage is expected to strand nearly 300,000 commuters, with limited shuttle buses available for essential workers and those who can\u2019t telecommute on weekdays. MTA chief Janno Lieber and Gov. Kathy Hochul told other riders to simply work from home.<\/p>\n

\u201cLIRR service is suspended until further notice because of a strike,\u201d the railroad wrote on X early Saturday. <\/p>\n

\u201cAvoid nonessential travel and work from home if possible. We will have limited shuttle bus service on weekdays for essential workers and those who cannot telecommute.\u201d<\/p>\n

Union officials said they did everything the could to reach a deal but had no choice but to walk off the job. <\/p>\n

\u201cTo every LIRR passenger whose trip is disrupted, know that the MTA left us no choice but to strike,\u201d said Gil Lang, general chairman of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen\u2019s (BLET) General Committee.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want to be on the picket line. But after three years without raises, we cannot make anymore compromises to cover for the MTA\u2019s mismanagement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Signs warn of the strike on the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) at Penn Station on May 15, 2026 in New York City. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Lieber blasted the unions and claimed they rejected a fair proposal during the 11th-hour negotiations.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur last offer literally gave them everything they said they wanted in terms of pay but they rejected even that,\u201d the MTA chief said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen we offered to conclude a contract just on the three years where we agreed and to go into binding arbitration on the fourth. Still, it was rejected.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, it\u2019s become apparent that these unions always intended to strike. Their strategy is to inconvenience Long Islanders and try to force the MTA and the State to do a bad deal,\u201d fumed Lieber.<\/p>\n

The sides have agreed on retroactive raises of 3% in 2023, 3% in 2024 and 3.5% in 2025, but remain at odds on the unions\u2019 request for a 5% pay raise in 2026. Christopher Sadowski for NY Post<\/p>\n

The dispute between the MTA and the coalition of labor groups involves contracts that became amenable in 2023 and centers on pay and work rules for train workers.<\/p>\n

The sides have agreed on retroactive raises of 3% in 2023, 3% in 2024 and 3.5% in 2025, but remain at odds on the unions\u2019 request for a 5% pay raise in 2026.<\/p>\n

Union leaders say they need higher wages to keep up with inflation.<\/p>\n

MTA chief Janno Lieber and Gov. Kathy Hochul told other riders to simply work from home. James Keivom<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not asking for the moon and stars. We\u2019re asking for an agreement that keeps pace with inflation,\u201d a source at one of the unions involved in the negotiations told The Post Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re coming up with lump-sum payments rather than putting the money in our wages.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gary Dellaverson, the MTA\u2019s lead labor negotiator, said Wednesday that in recent meetings, the authority has offered individual lump-sum payments over the remaining 12 months of the contract rather than the wage increases the unions are seeking.<\/p>\n

But union officials argue that lump-sum payments do not raise base pay and would leave workers effectively stuck at 2025 wage levels when the next round of bargaining begins.<\/p>\n

An information sign for the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) shows \u201cNo Passengers\u201d at Penn Station on May 15, 2026 in New York City. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Negotiations reportedly continued late into Friday night as the strike deadline loomed, with riders rushing to return to Long Island before service was disrupted.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this point, we have no idea what\u2019s going to happen, and we\u2019re just kind of waiting to figure it out,\u201d commuter Jordan Rund told ABC 7 News Friday night<\/a>, noting how working from home isn\u2019t an option for him. <\/p>\n

\u201cI work in the West Village, so for me to drive all day from Long Island to the west side, it would take me like over two hours to be able to get there. So, it\u2019s kind of a hassle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Options will be slim for the LIRR\u2019s daily riders who can\u2019t work from home during the strike.\u00a0 Getty Images<\/p>\n

Commuter Dana Camera told the outlet working from home is out of the question for her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do ultrasounds for pregnant women and gynecology and so on and I have to be there,\u201d she said. \u201cI can\u2019t do that remotely.\u201d<\/p>\n

Options will be slim for the LIRR\u2019s daily riders who can\u2019t work from home during the strike.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The MTA has planned rush\u2011hour shuttle buses for essential workers from five Long Island stations into Queens, at a projected cost of roughly $325,000 to $550,000 per day.<\/p>\n

Mayor Zohran Mamdani warned riders to expect \u201cheavier-than-usual traffic,\u201d crowded transit and longer travel times as the strike continues.<\/p>\n

\u201cCity Hall and agencies across the administration are actively coordinating preparedness and contingency efforts to maintain continuity for commuters and support New Yorkers as conditions evolve,\u201d Mamdani said in a Friday night post on X. <\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe MTA has announced that limited weekday bus service will be available for essential workers and others who cannot telecommute.\u2028We encourage New Yorkers to stay informed, plan ahead and check for updates and travel guidance as more information becomes available.\u201d<\/p>\n

State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli estimated the strike could cost up to $61 million in lost economic activity per day, based on prior analysis, inflation and rider trends. <\/p>\n

\u201cA LIRR strike will be felt far beyond the tracks, triggering the loss of millions of dollars per day in lost economic activity, disrupting thousands of riders and throwing the region\u2019s transit service into chaos and gridlock,\u201d DiNapoli said in a statement Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI urge the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and its union partners to expedite reaching a reasonable settlement so we can avoid the widespread disruption of a strike.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Long Island Rail Road workers went on strike early Saturday after Metropolitan Transportation Authority leaders failed to reach…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":800174,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,10209,122729,5248,9904,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,39749,67,586,132,5230,68,1154,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-800173","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-lirr","10":"tag-lirr-strike","11":"tag-metro","12":"tag-mta","13":"tag-new-york","14":"tag-new-york-city","15":"tag-newyork","16":"tag-newyorkcity","17":"tag-ny","18":"tag-nyc","19":"tag-unions","20":"tag-united-states","21":"tag-united-states-of-america","22":"tag-unitedstates","23":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","24":"tag-us","25":"tag-us-news","26":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116583322589160930","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/800173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=800173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/800173\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/800174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=800173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=800173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=800173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}