12-hour bargaining session yields no agreement; 2 sides reconvening at 10 a.m. Friday
Commuters at the Hicksville LIRR station Thursday. Credit: Morgan Campbell
A 12-hour negotiation session between MTA managers and five LIRR unions ended without a deal, and with the two sides “very far apart,” according to one labor leader.
The talks broke shortly before 10 p.m., and are expected to reconvene at 10 a.m. — just 14 hours before a strike deadline.
Asked if he thought a deal could be made with such little time left on the clock, Kevin Sexton, national vice president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, said, “I hope so.”
"What I can say is, at this point, the parties are very far apart,” Sexton said upon leaving the MTA’s Manhattan headquarters with other union leaders. "But we look forward to meeting with them tomorrow, and we'll take it from there.”
Earlier in the day, the two sides noted incremental progress during Thursday’s marathon negotiations.
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.
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