A coalition of unions representing about half of Long Island Rail Road employees has averted a strike — for now — by asking President Donald Trump to establish an emergency board.
Service will continue on the busiest commuter railroad in North America while this emergency board process is underway. A strike could occur next May if a compromise with the MTA isn’t reached.
The news comes after the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen announced on Monday that 99.9% of its 529 active LIRR union members voted to authorize a strike.
The coalition of unions, however, agreed to formally request Trump to establish an emergency board to attempt to resolve the issues between the union and the LIRR and come to a new contract, staving off a potential strike that would have begun Thursday.
If BLET does not agree to a new contract by May, however, it could be the first time LIRR employees strike in over 30 years. LIRR unions last went on strike in 1994, but the walkout only lasted for two days before a new contract for LIRR employees was settled.
“These passengers, they’re our friends, our neighbors, our family, and they should be treated much better than we’ve seen over this past week,” said BLET Vice President James Louis. “This is why the five unions decided to be the grown-ups in the room and request President Trump to appoint a presidential emergency board per the Railway Labor Act and allow both sides to present the proposals to the board.”
The strike would potentially affect more than 270,000 daily commuters in New York, as five unions representing 55% of the LIRR workforce are demanding a 16% raise over a four-year period.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul decried the idea of a strike on Monday, stating that it would hurt LIRR employees and passengers.
“A strike would hurt not only the riders who rely on the LIRR, but also many hardworking LIRR employees and their families, who will be left without pay because of unrealistic demands and their union leadership’s refusal to negotiate,” Hochul said in a press release. “There is a fair offer on the table, and I have directed the MTA to be ready to negotiate anytime, anywhere.”
Commuters boarding a train at the Jamaica station of the Long Island Rail Road in Jamaica, New York, on August 22, 2024.
J. Conrad Williams Jr./Newsday RM via Getty Images
According to the MTA, which runs the LIRR, the unions planning to strike next year have already rejected one deal that offered them a 9.5% wage increase over a three-year period, which would keep LIRR workers as the highest-paid railroad employees in the country. LIRR engineers currently make $160,000 a year on average and top out at $350,000, according to the agency.
LIRR President Rob Free has lambasted the collective bargaining effort by the unions, citing it as a cash grab that would overpay LIRR employees who already earn almost $50 an hour on average, per MTA figures, which is 7% higher than industry norms, he said.
“These five labor organizations, who are amongst the highest paid in the nation, want 6.5% more than everyone else, without any concessions, including outdated work rules, that significantly increase salaries, including providing multiple days’ pay for one day of work,” Free said in a press conference last week.
A scenic view of the Farmingdale Long Island Railroad station near by the Bethpage State Park Golf Course on August 11, 2025 in Farmingdale, New York.
Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
However, the LIRR unions maintain they are trying to achieve fair wages for their members, as they have been without a pay raise for over three years and run almost 1000 daily trains.
Gil Lang, the General Chairman for the BLET’s LIRR engineers, said the unions are trying to keep pace with the rising cost of living in New York.
“We are only asking for a fair contract — one that provides modest wage gains, or at the very least, maintains real wages,” Lang said. “Our members would not ratify anything short of that.”
