The Metropolitan Transportation Authority and eight LIRR unions returned to the bargaining table this week to discuss contract negotiations.
The MTA and the LIRR unions reached no compromise after a four-hour meeting on Tuesday. The MTA has offered LIRR employees a 17 percent raise over seven years, but union officials have insisted on 17 percent over six years. The MTA also wants new employees to contribute 4 percent of the cost of their health care coverage, and current employees to contribute 2.5 percent.
State senators Jack Martins (R-Mineola), Kemp Hannon (R-Garden City) and Carl Marcellino (R-Syosset) have urged Gov. Andrew Cuomo to get involved in the negotiations in order to avert a potential strike, which would leave 325,000 daily commuters without service. “We need to have the full force of the executive branch brought to bear so that there is a real negotiation,” Hannon said last week.
Cuomo has said he is hoping for a “fair resolution” to the impasse, but reportedly stated on Monday that it is a matter of federal law best resolved by Congress.

MTA officials said they would travel to Washington D.C. on Wednesday to meet with Seante and House leaders to get a clearer idea of what Congress plans to do about the labor dispute. 

MTA contingency plan

In preparation for the LIRR strike, the MTA has come up with its own contingency plan to transport commuters into the city. Six LIRR stations would become bus stops in the event of strike, according to the MTA, including Bellmore, Seaford, Freeport, Hicksville, Deer Park and Ronkonkoma; Nassau Community College, in Garden City, would also be involved. 
Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray called the MTA’s plan “unworkable and ill-conceived” at a news conference in Bellmore two weeks ago.
According to the MTA website, a train leaving from Valley Stream could take anywhere from 32 to 39 minutes in the morning to reach Penn Station, including trains that transfer at Jamaica. A bus ride and then a transfer to a subway could cost commuters more time in the morning.
Julie Mansmann contributed to this story.