Long Island Rail Road strike creates manic Monday commute as negotiators return to the table

After a manic Monday for thousands of Long Island Rail Road riders trying to get in and out of New York City, things should start to get back to normal on Tuesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul said.

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Hochul announced Monday night that a deal had been reached to end a labor strike that shut down the country’s largest commuter railroad.

“Tonight, the @MTA reached a fair deal with the five LIRR unions that delivers raises for workers while protecting riders and taxpayers,” Hochul said on social media, adding that phased-in LIRR service would resume at 12 p.m. Tuesday.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani welcomed the news with a statement late Monday.

“I’m grateful that LIRR unions and the MTA reached an agreement tonight that recognizes both the critical importance of the LIRR and the workers who keep it running,” he said on X .

He urged those who use the commuter railroad to continue making alternative transportation plans, because, he said, service will not be at 100% to start. It will be phased in, and travel delays are likely to continue, Mamdani said.

The city will monitor traffic while the MTA will offer limited bus service for essential workers as an alternative to the trains, he said.

The deal came after the first weekday test of the alternative travel plans the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and government officials drew up for the more than 250,000 commuters who ride the LIRR on workdays.

Over 3,500 LIRR employees walked off the job at 12:01 a.m. Saturday when the long-running contract negotiations broke down over the wage and cost-of-living increases that workers are demanding and the MTA has been resisting.

Upon arriving in New York City on Monday, many commuters were greeted by the sight of dozens of striking union workers outside Penn Station and other city travel hubs chanting: “No contract, no service! No contract, no peace!”

Fearing a rush hour nightmare, Hochul had urged commuters to work from home if possible.

“Let’s face the facts: It’s impossible to fully replace LIRR service,” she told reporters at a news conference Sunday.

But after the Monday commute was in the books, Hochul said it went “smoother than expected.”

“I do want to thank the thousands of New Yorkers who heeded our request to stay and work from home,” she said. “I thank their employers.”

As Hochul spoke, negotiators for the five striking labor unions and the MTA, which runs the LIRR, returned to the bargaining table to try to hammer out a deal.

The five unions are the 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.

Hochul also met with the MTA leadership. “Our goal is to get this over as soon as possible,” she said.

Out on Long Island, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman called on Hochul to suspend congestion pricing during the strike.

“It is a shame that we will charge people in New York state an additional $9 to travel on a public roadway that they already paid for with tax dollars, especially during this strike, when they have no choice in many instances but to use their cars,” said Blakeman, a Republican who is trying to unseat Hochul.

Congestion pricing is designed to reduce gridlock and pollution while funding public transportation. Many Republicans oppose it , most notably President Donald Trump, who has endorsed Blakeman against Hochul.

Hochul has said there is no “legal mechanism” to suspend congestion pricing.

“Anyone who tells you they can doesn’t understand federal law,” she said .

In advance of the first LIRR labor strike since 1994, the MTA mapped out emergency transit alternatives, including free shuttle buses from seven locations in Long Island to two subway stations in Queens and additional subway service.

MTA officials had blamed union leadership for walking away from negotiations, saying the transit agency remained willing to continue bargaining.

“We made it clear we are available if they want to come back and negotiate,” MTA CEO Janno Lieber said Sunday. “They walked out and they went on strike.”

The coalition of unions representing roughly 3,500 LIRR engineers, signal workers, machinists and other workers has accused Lieber and MTA leadership of forcing a shutdown by refusing to agree to wage increases after years without raises amid rising living costs.

In a statement Sunday, the unions said the two sides were separated by less than a percentage point before talks broke down Friday night, and they argued that the strike was “completely avoidable.”

Before the unions went on strike, State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli warned the work stoppage could cause up to $61 million in lost economic activity every day. He said his estimate was based, in part, on inflation and ridership trends.