Transit workers for the Long Island Rail Road, the nation’s largest commuter railroad, are on strike, potentially stranding hundreds of thousands of weekday passengers in the New York City area.
The strike by the five unions representing 3,500 workers, the first at the railroad since 1994, brought all train traffic to a halt. The unions failed to reach a deal with railroad management on wages and work rules on Friday.
“After two days of round-the-clock negotiations, parties were unable to reach a deal,” said Kevin Sexton, vice president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, and spokesperson for the unions.
The unions are seeking the first raise for their members since 2022, a period that saw some of the highest cost-of-living increases in decades in one of the nation’s most expensive markets.
Commuters now face the prospect of having to drive to work at a time when gas prices have surged and new extra tolls are in place on all cars entering Manhattan’s business district.
