Could LIRR's work rules change?
George Barreto, a locomotive engineer with the LIRR, on the picket line in front of MTA headquarters. Credit: Newsday/Drew Singh
Speaking outside MTA headquarters on behalf of picketing strikers, locomotive engineer George Barreto defended work rules the MTA says are antiquated and contribute to making LIRR employees the highest-paid railroad workers in the United States.
The MTA has sought to change rules, such as paying locomotive engineers double when they operate both a diesel and electric train during the same shift; the pay is triple if the employee is asked to drive a third type of train, Newsday has reported.
"As for the quote unquote, arcane work rules, penalty claims are there because the carrier violated a rule. If you violate a rule, you have to pay the claim, hence the penalty claim," he said, after picketing outside the headquarters before a break.
Could the rules be changed?
"That would have to be negotiated between union leadership and the MTA," said Barreto, 50, a Brooklyn native who's worked for the LIRR for 28 years and now commutes in from Philadelphia.
He earned about $200,000 last year, he said. MTA payroll records indicate that in 2025 Barreto made a total of $229,902.45, of which $120,352.63 in regular pay, $43,434.79 in overtime, $2,191.06 in cash outs and $63,923.97 in other pay.
Payroll records show the median salary among the five striking unions was $131,212 in 2024.
— With Arielle Martinez and Anastasia Valeeva
Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.
