On April 7, leaders of five Long Island Rail Road unions, including BLET, representing more than 3,500 unionized railroaders, held a news conference in New York City to tell New Yorkers that “self-help” where the unions can legally strike or the employer could lock out workers is a little over a month away, and labor is still waiting for management to submit a proposal to settle the dispute.
“What we’re asking for is exceedingly reasonable… a strike would be a disaster for Long Island,” said BLET Vice President Kevin Sexton, speaking at the news conference. Every weekday 300,000 commuters travel between Long Island locations and New York City on the LIRR, the busiest commuter railroad in the nation. The LIRR has not had a strike since 1987.
On the same day that the five rail unions can legally walk out, May 16, the contract for TWU Local 100 whose members operate New York City’s subways and buses also expires with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). The LIRR is owned and operated by MTA.