At Ronkonkoma picket line, sympathy for riders
Locomotive engineer and union spokesperson Michael Colucci, 55 of Nesconset, at the Ronkonkoma LIRR station on Sunday. Credit: Rick Kopstein
Michael Colucci, a locomotive engineer and engine service coordinator with the LIRR, said he was uncertain about the likelihood a deal could be struck before the work week begins.
“Listen, I’m not a gambling man, so I don’t know how to portray the odds,” he said at the Ronkonkoma picket on Sunday morning. “I would love to say 'yes' … I have no inside information, but I would like to think that they are realizing the gravity of this continued work stoppage.”
Colucci said that, if the strike bleeds into next week, it would be a financial blow to local businesses and union members alike, but said the picketers were prepared to continue the stoppage if necessary.
“This affects everything on Long Island. Clearly commerce is now grinding to a slow trickle at this point. And not only that, our families are suffering. We’re not getting paid,” he said.
“We want to be on these trains moving people. We don’t want to be walking this line,” he continued. “But we have to stick together and stay the course to ensure that we get a fair and equitable contract.”
Sam Kmack covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California and previously worked as a city watchdog reporter in the Phoenix metro area, as well as an investigative journalist at the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting.
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