Overview
- The MTA and five LIRR unions, which met Wednesday under federal mediation, face a 12:01 a.m. Saturday strike deadline if talks collapse.
- MTA negotiator Gary Dellaverson disclosed a $133,788,000 package that mirrors mediators’ 4.5% guidance but relies on one-time payments that union leaders say they will not accept.
- The dispute centers on the final year raise, where unions want 5% while the MTA has offered 3% or 4.5% with conditions, and recent talks have de‑emphasized work‑rule concessions.
- If trains stop, the MTA will run shuttles every 10 minutes from six Long Island stations to two Queens subway stops during rush hours, while urging remote work because buses cannot carry the roughly 270,000 to 300,000 daily riders.
- Gov. Kathy Hochul pressed both sides to bargain responsibly with public funds as businesses warn that a shutdown could cost Long Island tens of millions of dollars per day and would be the first LIRR strike since 1994.