LIRR strike: MTA ready to offer bigger raises to avoid potential work stoppage

Having twice received unfavorable rulings by White House-appointed mediators, the MTA is ready to discuss bigger raises for five LIRR unions than what most other transit workers have accepted to avoid a commute-crippling strike, the head of the transit agency said Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters following a Manhattan board meeting, Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO and Chairman Janno Lieber said officials met with union leaders Friday for the first one-on-one negotiating session since last summer, and made it clear "we are prepared to talk about" giving workers higher raises than have been previously offered.

But, Lieber said, the MTA wants the unions to help fund those raises through concessions, including productivity increases and work rule changes.

"What we said to them is: 'Look out for your members. We understand that you’re fighting for value, for compensation. But let’s sit down and figure out how we give you a little bit more money than maybe the pattern increases and offset it with some productivity improvements,’ " Lieber said. "But a strike that wastes big money for your members is not in anybody’s interest. It’s against both of our interests, just flushing money down the toilet."

Last week, a Presidential Emergency Board of mediators sided for a second time with the unions in their contract fight with the MTA. The labor organizations, which represent about half of all Long Island Rail Road union members, including locomotive engineers and ticket agents, are seeking 14.5% in raises over four years. The MTA, until recently, had been sticking to its offer for a three-year contract totaling 9.5% in raises — the same terms already accepted by most MTA union workers. The MTA recently budged from its position, offering a fourth year at 3% and a $3,000 lump sum payment, but also calling for several concessions.

Kevin Sexton, a spokesperson for the coalition of LIRR unions, said they're glad to see Lieber say that the MTA could provide higher raises that "reflect the rise in the cost of living and the recommendation of two panels of mediators."

But Sexton disputed Lieber's depiction of Friday's bargaining session, which he said was requested by the unions. Sexton said Lieber's comments about the potential financial impact of a strike on workers was never discussed.

"The MTA has the financial capacity to reach a fair agreement that maintains employees’ standard of living without unneeded concessions," said Sexton, national vice president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. "The question is not ability — it is willingness."

Without a settlement, the unions could legally walk off the job as early as mid-May, potentially stranding 250,000 daily LIRR commuters. It would be the first LIRR strike in 32 years.

Lieber said the MTA is "planning for" a strike, and would likely adopt a contingency plan similar to that outlined in September, when President Donald Trump’s administration first intervened, at the request of the unions, to avoid a strike that was days away. That plan included limited shuttle bus service between three railroad stations on Long Island and two subway stations in Queens.

Lieber said Wednesday that the MTA is "determined to try to provide transit to essential workers," but expects that most commuters could work remotely.

Even a three-day strike would "wipe out" a significant portion of the wage increases workers are fighting for, Lieber said.

"We’re ready to talk about wage increases even above those that were provided in the pattern agreement. ... But we need to have a serious discussion figuring out how to pay for them through collaborative productivity improvements which are very achievable," Lieber said. 

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.