The Long Island Rail Road shut down service early Saturday after five railroad unions went on strike following the expiration of a federally mandated cooling-off period.
The strike affects unions representing signalmen, electricians, clerks, machinists and locomotive engineers, impacting thousands of workers and disrupting travel for nearly 300,000 daily riders.
Negotiations continued through the week up to the deadline, but the two sides were unable to reach an agreement on wages and contract terms.
The last Long Island Rail Road strike occurred on June 17, 1994, lasting for two days before a contract settlement was reached. Another strike was narrowly avoided in 2014.
While East Meadow does not have a Long Island Rail Road station, commuters shared they depart from a variety of nearby locations, including Bellmore, Merrick, Westbury and Hicksville.
The Herald surveyed riders on several East Meadow Facebook forums to gather commuter thoughts.
“I am planning to work from home since travel will be impossible,” Allen Levy said.
Kristin Gennerich, who said she commutes from the Bellmore station, also added “planning to work from home.”
"I take the train into Penn Station from Westbury," Robert McNamee shared. "I was told I can work form home for a few days but will have to find a way in after that. I am pissed."
Timmy Brandt said he normally takes the train from Hicksville to Woodside.
“I’ll drive,” he said, “and unfortunately deal with the excess traffic this will cause.”
Judy Ramsumair also shared that she takes the train from Hicksville to the city. “Driving to Jamaica,” she said, “and jumping on the subway.”
Wendy Danker-Shea said her husband commutes from Merrick to Penn Station. “Thank goodness it’s not tax season so he can work from home,” she said.
Danker-Shea added that her son has an interview in Brooklyn next week, and was wary that the strike could dramatically impact his ability to get there.
Robert Offley, a commuter from Merrick, said: “We were told we can work from home.”
The contract dispute centered largely on wage increases and the structure of compensation. A Presidential Emergency Board recommended a 4.5 percent wage increase for a one-year contract extension, while the MTA proposed a 3 percent across-the-board raise supplemented by lump-sum payments. Union leaders argued the lump sums would not permanently increase workers’ base salaries and continued pushing for higher recurring wage increases.
In response to the shutdown, the MTA activated its contingency plan, which includes limited weekday shuttle bus service for essential workers and commuters unable to work remotely.
Shuttle buses are operating during peak commuting hours between six Long Island locations — Bay Shore, Hempstead Lake State Park near the Lakeview train station, Hicksville, Huntington, Mineola and Ronkonkoma — and subway connection points in Queens, including the Howard Beach-JFK Airport A train station and the Jamaica-179 Street F train station.
The MTA also encouraged commuters to work remotely if possible and warned travelers to expect significant congestion and delays on roads and transit systems throughout the region.
Nassau County riders were urged to consider NICE Bus service as an alternative connection to subway stations in Queens.
