MTA announces plans for possible Long Island Rail Road strike

NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has urged commuters to work from home or stay with friends and family in or near New York City in case of a strike by Long Island Rail Road workers, while announcing “limited service options” in the event of a work stoppage.

Approximately 300,000 riders will be impacted by a strike that could come as soon as next week. Five unions representing approximately half of the LIRR’s unionized work force are preparing for the possibility of a strike when a 30-day cooling-off period ends Sept. 18.

“It’s impossible to replace full service, but we’re doing the best we can to preserve access to transit for LIRR customers,” MTA Chief Customer Office Shanifah Rieara said in a Sept. 11 press release. “Should there be a strike, we encourage riders to work from home if it’s at all possible.”

The MTA said it plans to offer shuttle buses from three LIRR stations to connect to subway stations, running every 10 minutes during peak commute periods, for essential workers and those not able to work from home. Those buses, running from 4:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. during the morning commute and from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. during the evening rush, will run between the LIRR station at Bellmore on the Babylon Branch and the Howard Beach-JFK Airport subway A Train station; the Hicksville LIRR station at the east end of the Main Line and the Mets-Willets Point 7 Train station; and the Ronkonkoma LIRR station on the branch of the same name to the Mets-Willets Point station. Accessible travel options will be available at those LIRR stations.

The agency also says limited shuttle bus service will be available from points east to subway connections in Queens, and recommends use of Nassau Inter-County Express buses to reach the Flushing-Main Street or 169th Street subway stations.

The MTA will update strike information at this page on its website.

The possibility of a strike was set in motion last month when the National Mediation Board released the two sides from further required mediation, agreeing with the unions’ contention that the parties were at an impasse [see “Long Island Rail Road, five unions released …,” Trains.com, Aug. 18, 2025].

Members of the five unions — Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and the Transportation Communications Union — turned down a contract offering 9.5% in raises over three years, a deal accepted by the LIRR’s other unions. The MTA has said the five unions are seeking raises totaling 16%.

But in a letter Tuesday to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, representatives of the five unions said their proposal “simply seeks to keep pace with the rising cost of living in New York” and that the difference between the two sides is “less than 1% per year over the life of the agreement.” The MTA contends the unions should accept the contract pattern accepted by other unions, while the unions say their requests are more in keeping with contracts negotiated by comparable rail operations.