{"id":1181,"date":"2026-05-16T13:41:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T13:41:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/?p=1181"},"modified":"2026-05-16T13:41:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T13:41:18","slug":"new-york-commuter-rail-system-shuts-down-as-workers-strike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/?p=1181","title":{"rendered":"New York commuter rail system shuts down as workers strike"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"border-color:var(--article-border);background-color:var(--article-inner-background)\" class=\"dcr-wqti5a\">\n<div class=\"dcr-2zxs1v\">\n<div style=\"--grid-area:media\" data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tr9ye5\">\n<figure id=\"7ab16fc2-e531-4981-b48e-16e5c039c360\" class=\"dcr-142siv7\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Long Island Rail Road workers walk the picket line outside Penn Station in Manhattan, New York, on 16 May 2026.\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/ee9bfc5f76aaf3b8ed0fb369bb6cc0c5365bde1f\/0_0_4820_3214\/master\/4820.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"310.06431535269707\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><span class=\"dcr-v822l1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-gup2gr\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fntg6k\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-1xgwz8b\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1os51wo\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Long Island Rail Road workers walk the picket line outside Penn Station in Manhattan, New York, on 16 May 2026.<\/span> Photograph: Heather Khalifa\/AP<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"7ab16fc2-e531-4981-b48e-16e5c039c360\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-n4pnam\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1hdkqum\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Long Island Rail Road workers walk the picket line outside Penn Station in Manhattan, New York, on 16 May 2026.<\/span> Photograph: Heather Khalifa\/AP<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:border\" data-gu-name=\"border\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:headline\" data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1aqe7zu\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-1k1a1x\">New York commuter rail system shuts down as workers strike<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:standfirst\" data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-15in7js\">\n<p>Workers at the Long Island Rail Road, serving the eastern New York metropolitan area, walked off the job on Saturday<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:body\" data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-kn9unn\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1a4fred\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-ydnaza\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-1c9t5u6\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">North America\u2019s largest commuter rail system was shut down on Saturday after unionized workers in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/new-york\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">New York<\/a> City area went on strike .<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The Long Island Rail Road that serves the city\u2019s eastern suburbs ceased operations on early Saturday morning after five unions representing about half its workforce walked off the job.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The two sides have been negotiating for months on a new contract, and the Trump administration had even interceded to try and broker a deal. But the unions were legally allowed to strike starting at 12.01am on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Kevin Sexton, national vice-president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, said no new negotiations have been scheduled.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cWe\u2019re far apart at this point,\u201d Sexton said early on Saturday. \u201cWe are truly sorry that we are in this situation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Janno Lieber, the MTA chairman, said the agency \u201cgave the union everything they said they wanted in terms of pay\u201d and that to him it was apparent the unions always intended to walk out.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The walkout, the first for the LIRR since a two-day strike in 1994, promises to cause headaches for some sports fans planning to see the crosstown baseball rivals the New York Yankees and Mets battle this weekend or to watch the NBA\u2019s New York Knicks playoff run at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. Both sports venues have dedicated LIRR stops.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">If the shutdown continues past the weekend, the roughly 250,000 people who ride the system to and from work each weekday will be forced to find alternative routes into New York City from its Long Island suburbs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">For many, that likely means navigating the region\u2019s notoriously congested roads.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cPeople are still going to commute, but if everybody starts driving now, the traffic is only going to get worse,\u201d said Rich Piccola, an accountant who commutes into the city as he waited at Penn Station for a train home Thursday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">New York\u2019s governor, Kathy Hochul, is urging Long Islanders to work from home if possible. The MTA has said it will provide limited shuttle buses to New York City subway stations, but that contingency plan wasn\u2019t envisioned to handle all the riders the system normally carries on a workday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">And while remote work options greatly expanded during the Covid pandemic, many workers still need to show up in person, said Lisa Daglian, executive director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, a commuter advocacy group.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cYou work in construction, you work in the healthcare industry, you work at a school or you\u2019re about to graduate from school, that\u2019s not always possible,\u201d she said of telecommuting. \u201cPeople need to get where they need to go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The most recent contract talks have stalled on the question of worker\u2019s salaries and health care premiums.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The MTA has said the unions\u2019 initial demands would have led to fare increases and affected contract negotiations with other unionized workers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The unions, which represent locomotive engineers, machinists, signalmen and other train workers, have said more substantial raises were warranted to help workers keep up with inflation and rising living costs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Some riders, while sympathetic to the union\u2019s affordability concerns, worry they\u2019ll bear the brunt of any pay raises.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">If the unions get the pay increases they are looking for, \u201cit will come at the expense of our riders who will see next year\u2019s 4% fare increase doubled to 8%,\u201d Gerard Bringmann, chair of the LIRR Commuter Council, a rider advocacy group, said in a statement. \u201cLike the union workers, we too are burdened by the increase in the cost of living here on Long Island.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">With Hochul, a Democrat, facing re-election later this year, the pressure might be on the MTA to strike a deal to end the shutdown, said William Dwyer, a labor relations expert at Rutgers University in New Jersey, where commuter rail workers staged a three-day strike last year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cShe\u2019s up for re-election, and Long Island is a critical vote for her,\u201d he said. \u201cSo if there\u2019s a significant fare hike, that does not bode well for her on election day.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-qxqnsy\"><span class=\"dcr-1rq3vad\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-1dzx48f\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-1rrvs2w\">\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/new-york\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">New York<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-unions\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US unions<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/cities\/city-transport\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">City transport<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a 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class=\"dcr-1hko8ef\"><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Long Island Rail Road workers walk the picket line outside Penn Station in Manhattan, New York, on 16<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1182,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1181"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1181\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1183,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1181\/revisions\/1183"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}