About 3,500 LIRR workers and the MTA were negotiating a fourth-year raise, with the union demanding 5% pay bumps while the MTA countered with a lump sum payment, according to prior reports.
The deal includes a 4.5% raise in the contract’s fourth year and a $3,000 lump sum payment, union leaders told NYC media outlet The Chief. Both sides celebrated the deal as a win.
“I was not going to allow taxes or fares to go up. And that's why we stood firm for a deal that would not require any additional fare increases or tax increases,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said Tuesday.
The three-day LIRR strike boggled commutes on Monday, May 18 and again Tuesday morning as Long Islanders jammed highways to get into the city for work. Regular service resumed in time for Tuesday evening rush hour and Tuesday night’s New York Knicks game.
While LIRR workers got the 4.5% raise and the lump sum payment, they conceded to a six-week extension of the new contract, which will delay future raises, Newsday reported. They also agreed to undergo 16 hours of workplace training outside of normal work hours.
Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen boss Michael Sullivan told Newsday the unions “essentially got a clean deal.”
The MTA board and the union’s rank-and-file members will still need to approve the deal before it officially goes into effect. If either side rejects the terms, LIRR workers could return to the picket lines.
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