Strike on the LIRR
Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) workers went on strike early Saturday morning after negotiations with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) failed without a new contract. The strike affects the busiest commuter rail system in North America.
Five unions, representing about half of the 7,000 employees — including machinists, mechanics and signalmen — are legally authorized to stop work starting at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. The decision was announced after meetings that ended on Friday without progress.
“We are very far away right now. We are truly sorry to be in this situation,” said Kevin Sexton, national vice president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Machinists, who indicated that no new negotiations are scheduled.
For his part, Janno Lieber, president of the MTA, stated that the agency “gave the union everything they said they wanted in terms of wages” and that, in his opinion, the unions always had the intention of going on strike.
The closure will force approximately 250,000 daily commuters to find alternative routes to reach Manhattan from the Long Island suburbs, either working from home or using cars on already congested highways. A significant increase in traffic and longer travel times is expected.




