Thursday, October 1, 2026
UPDATE:
As negotiations stretched toward Friday night’s midnight deadline at MTA headquarters, the two sides remained divided over salary increases during the final year of the proposed contract. Union leaders representing locomotive engineers, electricians, signal workers, machinists and clerks sought a 5 percent raise in the fourth year, while the MTA increased its proposal from 3 percent and included part of the compensation as a lump-sum payment.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said during a Sunday news conference that state officials and the MTA remain prepared to continue negotiations and urged union leaders to return to the bargaining table.
“Let me be clear, I did not want a strike. The MTA did not want a strike,” Hochul said at the MTA’s subway operations control center. “No one wins in a strike. Everyone is hurt.”
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said the authority remained available to negotiate even after the strike deadline passed.
“We have always been willing to continue negotiations,” Lieber said. “We sat there in the hallway so they couldn’t even avoid seeing us, that we were available to talk to them right up to and through the deadline. It was they who elected to walk out.”
The two sides returned to negotiations Sunday afternoon after the National Mediation Board, the federal agency overseeing the labor dispute, brought union leaders and MTA officials back together in an effort to restart talks and reach a contract agreement. Negotiations concluded around 1:45 a.m. Monday, but the two sides resumed talks at 7:30 a.m.
Union members began picketing at 7 a.m. Saturday at key locations, including the Babylon and Ronkonkoma LIRR stations and Penn Station.
Lieber said Sunday that the MTA remained willing to continue negotiations, but maintained that the authority could not agree to a contract that would create major financial burdens for riders.
“We were more than willing to meet them halfway on wages,” Lieber said during Sunday’s news conference. “We need the unions to respond to our ideas and come up with ideas and work with us.”
Hochul also defended the MTA’s position Sunday, saying the authority could not agree to contracts that would “raise fares as much as 8 percent and risk hiking taxes for Long Islanders.”
In response to the shutdown, the MTA activated a contingency plan that includes limited weekday shuttle bus service for essential workers and commuters unable to work remotely.
Shuttle buses are expected to begin operating around 4 a.m. Monday 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.
MTA President Rob Free said the shuttle buses are intended primarily for essential workers traveling into New York City.
“The shuttle bus service is for absolutely essential workers,” Free said. “We want to make sure that we get the necessary people into the city so they can perform their functions.”
Nassau County riders were also urged to consider NICE Bus service as an alternative connection to subway stations in Queens, while commuters were encouraged to use the 7 subway line from Citi Field parking areas. Citi Field is charging $6 per day for parking while the New York Mets are on the road this week.
Hochul urged commuters who are able to work remotely to stay home during the strike.
“Effective Monday, I’m asking that regular commuters who can work from home should,” she said. “Please do so. And employers should make every accommodation necessary to allow for remote work.”
She added that there is “no legal mechanism” to suspend congestion pricing in New York City during the strike.
UPDATE:
Kevin Sexton, vice president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and spokesperson for the Long Island Rail Road Bargaining Coalition, said the unions were forced to strike after negotiations with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority broke down following two days of round-the-clock talks.
“Regrettably, as of 12:01 a.m. this morning, we are striking the Long Island Railroad,” Sexton said at a news conference. “This was a management-provoked strike, as far as we are concerned.”
Sexton said the dispute escalated late in negotiations after the railroad introduced proposed health care contributions for new employees.
“Late in the 11th hour, the railroad decided to throw health care contributions for new employees, which was never discussed in bargaining,” he said.
Sexton added that another bargaining session had not yet been scheduled and said he did not know how long the strike would last.
Michael Sullivan, general chairman of the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, also criticized the MTA’s handling of negotiations.
“This strike did not have to happen,” Sullivan said. “The men and women represented by this coalition followed every step of the legal process and prevailed before two independent expert boards.”
Union members were expected to begin picketing at 7 a.m. Saturday at key locations, including the Ronkonkoma station and Penn Station, according to Sexton.
The current contract dispute has centered largely on wage increases and compensation structure. A Presidential Emergency Board recommended a 4.5 percent wage increase as part of a one-year contract extension, while the Metropolitan Transportation Authority proposed a 3 percent across-the-board raise supplemented by lump-sum payments. Union leaders argued the lump-sum payments would not permanently raise workers’ base salaries and continued pushing for higher recurring wage increases.
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said the agency could not agree to a deal that would significantly impact the authority’s finances.
“We cannot and will not do a deal that shifts huge costs to our riders by forcing fare hikes,” Lieber said in a statement following the strike announcement.
Gov. Kathy Hochul criticized the strike Saturday, saying the shutdown would place additional burdens on riders and taxpayers across Long Island and New York City.
“The decision by some unions to strike over demands that would threaten that progress is reckless,” Hochul said in a statement. “These unions represent the highest paid workers of any railroad in the nation, yet they are demanding contracts that could raise fares as much as 8%, pit workers against one another, and risk tax hikes for Long Islanders. This is unacceptable.”
State Sen. Siela A. Bynoe said the strike would create major hardships for Long Island commuters, businesses and families.
“Business owners and families across Long Island depend on public transportation, and the strike will cause economic and personal hardship,” Bynoe said in a statement.
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.
Glen Head station is one stop on the Oyster Bay line. Roslyn resident Eric Hirshberger, an engineer, said he takes the LIRR from different stations, one of which is Glen Head, into New York City for work four to five days a week.
"My hope is to find a to find a place near a subway station that I can
park, so I don't have to drive all the way into the city," he said of his plans for getting to work. "But I'm afraid everybody else is having the same idea."
Negotiations continued through the week up to the deadline, but the two sides were unable to reach an agreement on wages and contract terms.
Glen Cove resident Shenel Etherige, who commutes four days a week from the Glen Street station to her job with the New York City Department of Design and Construction, said the strike has created uncertainty for working parents trying to balance commuting and childcare. Etherige said she was still waiting for guidance on whether city employees affected by the strike would be permitted to work remotely. Driving into the city, she explained, would significantly increase her commute time and make it difficult to pick up her 9-year-old daughter from her after-school program at Landing School before its 6 p.m. closing time. “It would literally be me racing against the clock trying to make sure that I’m here before her let-out time,” she said. Despite the disruption, Etherige said she supports railroad workers seeking higher pay. “The cost of everything is going up, so why shouldn’t they have a salary and a pay that reflects that?” 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.
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.
Hirschberger said he can only work remotely two to three days a week. He added that driving would add significant time to his commute, especially on the way home, because of traffic.
"I try to get home early," Hirschberger said, "to spend time with my kids before they go to sleep."
Nassau County riders were urged to consider NICE Bus service as an alternative connection to subway stations in Queens.
The shutdown may also affect local businesses. Becca Williams, bookseller at Theodore's Books in Oyster Bay, said people take the train into the hamlet for activities.
"They want somewhere to walk around, or it's tourist season, people want to go walk around, see the Theodore Roosevelt stuff," she said. "And we have a lot of Theodore Roosevelt stuff here, so a lot of people like to come stop on their way, so we have definitely a concern."
The Gold Coast Book Fair is taking place this weekend in Oyster Bay, and Williams explained that the shutdown may lead to difficulties.
"There's authors that live in the city, there are a lot of people that we have come out, just regular customers on the weekend come in from Brooklyn and Queens," she said. "So we're definitely nervous about foot traffic for the fair, or just the ease of authors being able to come out."
This story will be updated as needed.
Will Sheeline and Roksana Amid also contributed to this story.
