NEW YORK — A five-union coalition representing Long Island Rail Road workers has formally requested that President Donald Trump appoint a second Presidential Emergency Board to address its long-running contract dispute with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
The move will add another 120 days to the process outlined by the Railway Labor Act for commuter rail disputes before a strike or lockout becomes possible. The unions had indicated last weekend they would make the request [see “LIRR unions to seek …,” Trains.com, Jan. 10, 2025].
The first PEB in the dispute recommended a 14% raise over four years, among other provisions. The MTA turned down the non-binding recommendations. It has offered 9.5% over three years, equaling an offer accepted by other unions.
“We felt compelled to request a second PEB because of LIRR and the MTA’s refusal to bargain in good faith,” Gilman Lang, general chairman for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen at the LIRR, said in a press release. “During this entire process the employer has chosen delay, obstruction and political maneuvering over meaningful negotiation and resolution.”
The unions say there has been no direct negotiations with management since July 2025, and that they last received a pay raise in April 2022.
“We didn’t agree with everything in the first PEB, known as Presidential Emergency Board 253, but those recommendations should have been used as the foundation for further negotiations,” said Nick Peluso, national vice president of the Transportation Communications Union. “We are only asking for what’s fair and consistent with agreements reached across the rail industry.”
The request will trigger a process that will lead to the naming of a three-person emergency board. That group will then have approximately 60 days to make its non-binding recommendations, after which a 60-day cooling-off period allowing additional negotiations begins. If there is no settlement by the end of that period in mid-May, a strike or lockout could begin.
Long Island Rail Road President Rob Free said in a statement, “We have said repeatedly the best way to settle this is at the negotiating table, which we’ve been ready to do. We look forward to them showing up to negotiate a contract that includes meaningful improvements to work rules so we can better serve LIRR riders.”
Labor, management or, in this case, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul are all permitted to request a Presidential Emergency Board. The unions’ request for a PEB is unusual — it is usually sought by management — but the coalition has previously claimed Hochul sought to provoke a strike last year to keep one from occurring closer to her re-election campaign [see “New York governor claims …,” Trains.com, Sept. 11, 2025]. Hochul, at that time, claimed Trump would be responsible for a strike because of the National Mediation Board’s September decision to release the parties from mediation that had been in progress since February 2024.
Other unions in the Long Island Railroad Bargaining Coalition are the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
— Updated at 4:25 p.m. CT with LIRR statement. To report news or errors, contact trainsnewswire@firecrown.com.
