MTA chief joins strike talks as riders face hellish commute

Daily Point

MTA chief at the bargaining table

Janno Lieber is in the room where it might happen.

Despite a track fire that closed down Long Island Rail Road service into and out of Penn Station late Thursday morning and wreaked havoc with commuting schedules, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's top guy is directly involved with the ongoing talks with the five unions and the attorneys for all involved, The Point has learned.

The appearance of Lieber underscores the significance of Thursday's talks, which began at about 10 a.m. and have continued through the afternoon, less than 36 hours before a potential strike.

Lieber's presence at the negotiating table comes as the MTA and five LIRR unions still have not agreed on contract terms that could avoid a strike. While the two parties agree on terms for the contract's first three years, the unions are seeking a fourth year at a 5% raise, while the authority has proposed a 3% raise, plus lump-sum payments.

As if the looming stoppage wasn't enough to deal with, commuters faced massive problems at Penn Station Thursday, after a track fire near the East River Tunnels stopped any LIRR train from coming into or out of Penn. Multiple subway lines in Queens had trouble at the same time, leaving commuters with few alternatives.

Usually negotiations are handled for the authority by attorney and chief negotiator Gary Dellaverson, who was even the face and voice of the MTA during a news conference Wednesday evening.

Lieber has long been a vocal supporter of including antiquated and lucrative work rules that often add significant pay bumps to workers' salaries in the negotiations. But the MTA recently took those work rules out of this negotiation in an effort to find a middle ground.

"We can't just pretend that I can make the unions negotiate work rules that they historically refuse to discuss," Lieber told state lawmakers earlier this year. "If we got rid of some of the work rules that automatically give people overtime, I think we can make some progress."

Now, Lieber is looking for other ways to "make some progress."

A spokesman for Gov. Kathy Hochul had told The Point Wednesday that the governor wanted both parties to "get in a room and negotiate around the clock."

Whether Lieber will stay in the room "around the clock" remains to be seen. But if Lieber can find the elusive middle ground that keeps the trains running past Friday night, perhaps commuters will even forgive the Thursday meltdown.

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com

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Reference Point

Serious LIRR strike looms decades after a 'strange little' one

Long Island Expressway electronic signs this week warning commuters of a potential Long Island Rail Road strike come exactly 60 years after another LIRR work stoppage, one that Newsday's editorial board dubbed "The Silliest Strike."

There have been dozens of LIRR strike threats throughout its history, most related to pay and work rules. The one in 1966 was no different, but the work rules in question for sure were.

"From about 5 PM to 9 PM Tuesday a partial work stoppage by union trainmen on the Long Island Rail Road disrupted the evening rush hour and forced between 9,000 and 12,000 commuters to find their way home by bus or as an alternative to spend the night in town," the board explained on May 12, 1966. "The reason for the stoppage? Company Rule G."

That's the rule that prohibited LIRR employees back then from drinking alcoholic beverages while on duty. The editorial went on to detail an incident where a supervisor witnessed trainmen drinking beer with their pizza while on a layover between runs. The men were subsequently summoned to a hearing, but their union leader refused to let them appear, which eventually led to this work stoppage.

The union leader insisted Company Rule G only applied to employees actively involved in the operation of trains. "The man who runs the engine or the man who manages the doors of a commuter train must not and should not drink ... he is responsible for his passengers' lives," was the editorial's explanation of the union's position. "An office worker can certainly enjoy a drink with lunch, lives are not at stake." The LIRR president at the time disagreed.

This strike came to an end when a federal judge issued a restraining order, but damage was done.

"Rule G obviously needs to be clarified," the board said. "Management, too often accurately blamed for stubbornness in issues involving labor relations, in this case seems to have acted correctly." The union leader was said to have behaved in "so frivolous a way ... merely adding fuel to a smoldering fire of public resentment."

Today's strike threat in 2026 comes after five remaining LIRR unions without a contract are at odds with the MTA over a schedule of pay raises and the refusal to change antiquated work rules.

The board concluded in 1966 this strange little strike... "is a classic example of 'the public be damned.' "

— Amanda Fiscina-Wells amanda.fiscina-wells@newsday.com

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