Overview
- MTA leaders, in a Wednesday board meeting, told Long Island Rail Road riders to prepare for a full service shutdown starting May 16 if five unions strike.
- Talks restarted Wednesday after a delayed federal mediation, with 2023–2025 raises settled but a 2026 gap unresolved as unions seek 5% and the MTA offers 3% or 4.5% tied to rule changes.
- The MTA is targeting premium pay rules, including double pay when engineers run both electric and diesel trains in one day and extra pay for yard moves that can raise a day’s pay toward triple time.
- If trains stop, the agency plans about 275 shuttle buses every 10 minutes during peak hours to connect Ronkonkoma, Hicksville, Mineola, Huntington, and Hempstead Lake State Park to F and A subway terminals in Queens, though officials say this is limited.
- MTA finance officials warn that granting a 5% fourth-year raise without savings could set a costly pattern for other unions and lead to an 8% fare hike, service cuts, or layoffs.