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LIRR commuters beware: MTA and unions remain far apart as federal mediators step in
By
Michael Sol Warren
and
Catalina Gonella
Published May 17, 2026
Modified May 17, 2026
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By
Michael Sol Warren
and
Catalina Gonella
Published May 17, 2026
Modified May 17, 2026
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Long Island Rail Road commuters should make plans to work from home on Monday or hope to snag a seat on a shuttle bus, as federal mediators attempt to restart negotiations between the MTA and striking rail unions.
“ We are available to negotiate,” Janno Lieber, MTA’s CEO, said at a press conference with Gov. Kathy Hochul on Sunday. “We need a partner who's willing to respond to ideas and come up with ideas and find a settlement. That's what we're looking for, and we're 24/7 available.”
Jim Louis, national vice president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, previously said there had been no talk of scheduling new bargaining sessions as of Sunday morning, as the union was waiting for the MTA to reach out.
“ The meetings have all been down at 2 Broadway at the MTA headquarters,” Louis said. “You don't just knock on somebody's door on the thing. You know, they're the ones that invited us. That's their property. They know our numbers, the governor knows our numbers.”
Hochul said the MTA was ready to get back to bargaining and urged union leaders to come to negotiations. Workers walked off at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday.
“We didn't want you to leave. You left. You are welcome to come back,” Hochul said. “I'll provide refreshments, whatever you like. Just come on back.”
Late Sunday afternoon, the National Mediation Board summoned both the MTA and the coalition of striking unions to a meeting in Manhattan to resume bargaining. The federal agency oversees labor relations for railroads and airlines.
Bracing for a potentially difficult Monday
The bargaining impasse meant the strike appeared likely to continue into Monday morning, setting up major commuting headaches for the 275,000 people who ride the LIRR daily.
The MTA plans to deploy a limited shuttle bus service on Monday to connect commuters from LIRR stations to the subway, but those buses will only have capacity for about 13,000 people and could cost more than half a million dollars to run each day. Officials stressed that the shuttle buses are meant for essential workers who must travel into the city.
The shuttle buses will run between Huntington and Ronkonkoma and the Jamaica-179 St station, as well as between Bay Shore and the Howard Beach-JFK Airport station, in both peak and reverse-peak directions.
The buses will run between Hempstead Lake State Park, Hicksville and Mineola and Howard Beach-JFK Airport in peak service direction only.
The shuttle buses will run only on weekdays, from 4:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. There will be no charge to ride the shuttle buses.
Officials said the best bet for anyone who still needs to get into the city from Long Island is to use those buses or Nassau County’s NICE Bus to reach a subway station.
But John Samuelsen, international president of the Transport Workers Union, urged NICE Bus workers not to help the MTA work around the strike.
In a social media post, Samuelsen told workers to “stand in support” of striking LIRR employees.
"Don’t let the bosses alter your routes," he said. "Don’t let the bosses bully you into undermining your friends and neighbors working on the railroad."
Hochul said the MTA is ready to handle more people on the subway and additional trains will be on standby to go into service if demand is higher than expected.
“ We're ready for this. We're ready for the capacity,” Hochul said. “We'll be monitoring closely in this very room and determining where extra trains need to go. The extra trains are ready to add.”
Officials said Citi Field will be offering parking for about $6 while the Mets start a road trip on Monday, giving commuters another park-and-ride option for the subway.
As of Sunday evening, neither side had announced whether the mediation effort had produced any breakthrough.
Contract fight focuses on pay and healthcare
The union is seeking raises to keep up with soaring inflation. MTA officials have said they agreed with the unions to increase pay for the first three years of a four-year contract, but the two sides never came to terms for the final year. Hochul and MTA officials have said meeting the union’s pay raise demands could translate to an 8% fare hike.
“ Long Islanders deserve a break, as do all the residents who commute on our lines from Queens and elsewhere. They face tariff prices, price hikes on everything from food to school supplies and skyrocketing gas prices after Trump's war in Iran,” Hochul said. “I will not let this dispute lead to higher prices and less money in the pockets of our residents.
But Louis said the real dealbreaker was a last-minute push by the MTA to change how healthcare works for union members.
In an interview with ABC7 Sunday morning, Lieber said the MTA proposed increasing healthcare costs for new hires at the LIRR unions, which would bring them up to the same levels as other state workers' pay. Louis said the union was blindsided by the proposal.
“It was never talked about for over three years of bargaining, never brought up during any of the federal proceedings, and now at literally the 11th hour, they try to put this in,” Louis said.
Political tensions grow as the strike drags on
It all means that the trains will remain parked, the picket lines will continue and Long Island commuters will be stuck looking for different ways in and out of the city.
Hochul said she would implement telework plans for state employees on Long Island.
“ It's impossible to fully replace LIRR service,” Hochul said. “Regular commuters who can work from home should. Please do so. An employer should make every accommodation necessary to allow for remote work.”
Louis said he felt sorry for commuters who were caught in the contract fight.
“ Once those buses hit the highway, it's going to be gridlock,” Louis said. “So we feel sorry for what they're all going through here at this moment.”
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the Republican gubernatorial candidate challenging Hochul in November, called on state officials to suspend congestion pricing during the strike, as he expects many people to try to drive into the city while the trains are halted.
“No congestion pricing during the strike,” Blakeman said. “Get to the bargaining table, Kathy Hochul, and get this strike over.”
Hochul said Blakeman’s suggestion is a nonstarter.
“There’s actually no legal mechanism to do that. Anyone who tells you they can doesn't understand federal law,” Hochul said.
Exploring all alternatives
The helicopter commuting service BLADE is offering discounted rides between JFK airport and Manhattan as long as the strike persists.
BLADE’s CEO, Rob Wiesenthal, posted on social media late Saturday night, saying the company’s commuter seats would cost $95. BLADE typically offers rides from JFK Airport to Manhattan for $195.
“The LIRR is on strike,” Wiesenthal wrote. “We are not.”
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
Tagged
Kathy Hochul
MTA
Politics
lirr
union
Michael Sol Warren
Michael Sol Warren covers New Jersey for WNYC and Gothamist, and previously reported on issues around the Garden State for NJ Spotlight News and NJ Advance Media. He can be reached at [email protected].
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Catalina Gonella
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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