The first LIRR strike in the work-from-home era?
When union chief Edward Yule Jr. announced the LIRR strike to the media in June 1994, working from home was a rarity. Credit: Newsday/John Keating
During past strikes, there wasn’t the practice or even the technological wherewithal to let employees work from home, noted Kathy Wylde, whose tenure at the Partnership for New York City, which represents the city's biggest employers, overlapped with the LIRR strikes of 1994 and 1987.
Back then, there was no widespread Internet, let alone Zoom or Slack, so there was no real work from home.
"People weren't set up for that," said Wylde, who retired last year after 44 years at the Partnership. "Now, it’s pretty routine."
Work from home was turbocharged beginning in 2020 with the pandemic. According to a Gallup poll, 70% of jobs were exclusively remote in May of that year.
Wylde said that during strikes employers have typically allowed employees to stay home, or arranged private transportation.
But, if a strike is prolonged, she told Newsday in Times Square, employers face tough choices in deciding how to proceed with return-to-office policies.
"Then it gets complicated."
Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.
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