LIRR strike begins, MTA warns Monday commute will be gridlocked

The Long Island Rail Road strike has already cut off service for about 301,000 weekday riders, and the MTA is warning that Monday morning could be the worst squeeze yet. With 735 daily trains suspended systemwide, the agency is urging commuters to work from home if they can and warning that roads, buses and other travel options will be pushed to or beyond capacity by the sudden rush of displaced riders.

The walkout began at 12:01 a.m. Saturday after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and five unions failed to reach a new contract. Those unions represent about half of the railroad’s 7,000 workers, which means the stoppage has paralyzed the busiest commuter rail system in North America at the exact moment Long Island and New York City need it most.

The MTA’s backup plan includes limited weekday shuttle-bus service during peak hours from six Long Island locations to subway transfer points in Queens, along with some reverse-peak service on select routes. For many riders, that will mean longer trips, extra transfers and a scramble for whatever space remains on roads and transit lines already absorbing far more people than they were built to handle.

At the center of the dispute is money. Union leaders and railroad management had already agreed to a retroactive 9.5% wage increase covering the last three years, but the sticking point is an additional 5% raise this year. MTA officials have warned that meeting the unions’ demands could force fare increases of as much as 8%. White House-appointed mediators, however, have said there is no indication the MTA cannot afford the proposed increases.

Union officials said no new negotiations have been scheduled, and some leaders have argued that the MTA has not treated the talks with enough urgency. The impasse leaves commuters absorbing the fallout while both sides remain far apart on what it will take to get trains moving again.

This is the first LIRR strike since 1994, when a walkout lasted about two days. Workers nearly struck again in 2014, but then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo helped secure a last-minute deal before service stopped. That history now hangs over the weekend shutdown, with no immediate resolution in sight and Monday’s commute carrying the full weight of a labor fight that has reached the point of a systemwide halt.