Long Island Rail Road engineers holding strike vote

NEW YORK — Long Island Rail Road engineers are holding a strike authorization vote, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has announced.

The union says in a press release that its almost 600 members employed by the LIRR received ballots last week, with a voting deadline of 11 a.m. ET on Sept. 15, 2025.

The BLET is one of five unions still in negotiations with the LIRR over a new contract, along with the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and the Transportation Communication Union. In total, the five organizations represent 55% of unionized LIRR workers.

The unions and railroad were released from mediation required under the Railway Labor Act by the National Mediation Board on Aug. 18 [see “Long Island Rail Road, five unions released …,” Trains.com, Aug. 19, 2025], triggering a 30-day cooling off period. That makes a strike possible as soon as Sept. 18, depending on the outcome of the authorization vote, although any of the parties involved can request the Trump administration to intervene with appointment of a Presidential Emergency Board to study the dispute. That would add months to the process preceding a possible job action.

Newsday reported last month that the unions have turned down a three-year contract with raises totaling 9.5% — 3% each of the first two years and 3.5% in the third. The LIRR’s other rail unions have accepted that deal, as have unionized Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus and subway workers. The five unions that have not agreed have not publicly addressed their demands, but are apparently seeking raises more in line with other rail operations, such as the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, which included raises totaling 15% in its current three-year contract.

“We are only asking for a fair contract — one that provides modest wage gains, or at the very least, maintains real wages,” Gil Lang, general chairman for the BLET’s LIRR engineers, said in the union’s release. “Our members would not ratify anything short of that.”