LIRR Strike Set to Snarl NYC Commuters Without Formal Talks

(Bloomberg) — Riders on the Long Island Rail Road are bracing for an hour-long commute Monday morning as a pay battle between the nation’s busiest rail line and its workers forced a system-wide shutdown, the first in more than 30 years.

LIRR customers are looking for alternative ways to get to and from New York City and across Long Island after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and union leaders failed to reach an agreement late Friday after two days of marathon contract negotiations. The MTA is the state agency that operates the city’s subways and buses, as well as the LIRR and Metro-North commuter lines.

About 3,500 engineers, signalmen and electricians walked off the job Saturday seeking higher wages. The last LIRR strike was in 1994.

There have been no contract negotiations since the start of the work stoppage. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Sunday urged the parties to resume negotiations and urged the union to meet again with MTA officials.

“I urge both parties to come together and resolve this as soon as possible to avoid a protracted strike that will disrupt many hard-working New Yorkers and affect the wallets of union members,” Hochul said during a news conference in midtown Manhattan.

Striking LIRR workers wore red T-shirts emblazoned with the words “United to Protect Real Wages” and demonstrated outside New York’s Penn Station on Saturday. Inside the station, areas that would normally be full of LIRR riders waiting to board their trains were quiet and fewer people were passing through. The stairs leading to the train platforms were closed or blocked and signs read “NO Rail Road Service on Long Island at this time”.

Several customer service workers in bright orange and yellow vests helped worried customers who were expecting to get on the LIRR that day, but were surprised when they got to Penn Station and first learned of the strike.

“I just got here and I didn’t see any service,” said Jeff Arriaza, a 19-year-old Saint Peter’s University student who was trying to get to Long Island to visit his sister. “Can you take us to Mineola?”

The MTA is asking people to work from home if possible. Its standby schedule during weekday morning and afternoon rush hours includes running up to 275 shuttle buses from six different locations on Long Island to Queens subway stations. The buses will be able to accommodate 13,000 passengers heading into the city in the morning and returning home in the afternoon, said Shanifah Rieara, the MTA’s chief customer officer. The service will fall well short of the LIRR’s typical weekday ridership of 300,000.

For some, the strike will have negative consequences beyond longer commutes. Karina Grant, who commutes to Manhattan five days a week from Port Washington, Long Island, said an extended strike would turn her life upside down. Remote work is out of the question for her in retail. She usually takes the train at 5:30 a.m. to arrive in time for her 7 a.m. shift. She considered taking an Uber to the nearest subway station, but the cost would be almost her entire day’s wages.

“If the Long Island Rail Road isn’t there, I might have to find a new job,” she added. “I don’t know if it will get to this point, but I’m pretty stressed about it.

The historic work stoppage comes as affordability is a daily concern for MTA riders and workers as they face higher prices for food, gas and other necessities. It is also the second commuter rail strike in the region in about 12 months, after train engineers refused to work for three days at New Jersey Transit in May 2025. Gov. Hochul said she won’t pressure riders with more than budgeted fare increases or additional taxes for residents.

“These unions represent the highest paid workers of any railroad in the country, yet they are demanding contracts that could raise fares by as much as 8%, pit workers against each other and risk higher taxes for Long Islanders,” Hochul said in a statement.

The average hourly wage for LIRR engineers is $49.92, 7% higher than the industry norm, according to the Empire Center for Public Policy, a nonprofit group that promotes free-market principles. LIRR engineers earned an average of $160,000 with overtime in 2025, according to the Empire Center.

Nevertheless, the striking workers are skilled employees providing an essential service. They haven’t received a raise in almost four years and are trying to keep their pay in line with inflation.

“We’re really sorry to be in this situation,” Kevin Sexton, national vice president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, told reporters after midnight Friday. “These riders, they’re our friends, our neighbors, they live in our communities. We understand the service the Long Island Rail Road provides to this region. It’s a really unfortunate situation, but that’s why you have to take collective bargaining seriously.”

The union is seeking a raise of 5% or close to it for this year. The MTA offered nearly 4.5% on Friday, but it would require new hires to pay a higher health insurance premium than existing employees. Union leaders balked at any proposals that include changes to work rules or benefits to help pay for the bigger pay raises.

Even a weekend suspension is a major disruption. More people use the LIRR for weekend travel than before the pandemic. Average weekend attendance in 2025 was 267,567, up from 210,313 in 2019, a nearly 30 percent increase, according to a report last month from Thomas DiNapoli, the state comptroller.

For those who rely on the LIRR to get to work, the shutdown will make the commute even longer.

Rochel Ramirez, who lives in Bayside and works at Mount Sinai Hospital, said the strike will more than double her hourly commute.

Ramirez usually leaves the house at 7 a.m. and gets to work an hour later via the LIRR and transfers to the 6-line subway. Because of the strike, Ramirez will have to be out the door before 6 a.m. to ride two buses and three subway lines.

“The bus is crazy with traffic and with seven trains, you never know,” she said.

After years of using the subway and buses, Ramirez switched to the more expensive LIRR to save time.

“My rest is more important, so even if I end up spending $20 round trip instead of $6 round trip, that’s fine with me because I’m so tired,” she said.

A monthly LIRR pass can cost as much as $487.75, depending on the itinerary. The MTA expects to issue prorated refunds to May monthly passholders for weekdays when LIRR service is unavailable.

–With help from Ira Iosebashvili.

More such stories are available at bloomberg.com