Posts tagged Long Island Rail Road
Commentary: The Blue-State Delusion Over Unions
May 31, 2026 // Salaries at the Long Island Rail Road—a commuter-train system that connects suburban residents to New York City—now average $121,646, which is 50 percent more than the median household income in New York City ($80,483). Work rules entitle engineers to double or even triple pay when they drive different types of trains on the same day or when they deliver a train to the maintenance yard after driving passengers. Last year, more than 300 LIRR workers each earned $100,000 in overtime—in addition to their base pay. Those extra wages in turn inflate their pensions, which they can take at the age of 55 after 30 years of service. All of this is as good for union members as it is unimaginable for most American workers. But taxpayers and commuters are the ones who pay for those generous compensation packages, and it’s reasonable to wonder whether they are getting a fair deal.
New York City Unions Keep Winning Six-Figure Salaries
May 21, 2026 // Business owners say the wage increases will raise prices for consumers, with higher hotel bills and healthcare costs. In its negotiations, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority argued that the wage increases that Long Island Rail Road unions were asking for would lead to higher fares or increased borrowing. Labor economists and union supporters said union victories in New York City could be hard to replicate elsewhere, but across the country unions have been flexing a bit more muscle in recent years. And other workers, struggling to keep up with rising costs, could take notice.
Unions that paralyzed New York commute over pay spent millions on luxury travel, filings show
May 21, 2026 // The disclosures offer a window into how the unions spent money on travel, conferences and event venues during the same year they argued workers were being squeezed by rising costs. The strike disrupted hundreds of thousands of daily riders and cost the region an estimated $61 million per day. LM-2 forms are annual financial disclosure reports that labor unions file with the Department of Labor, detailing receipts, disbursements, officer payments and other spending. Fox News Digital reviewed 2025 LM-2 forms filed with the Labor Department by the five unions involved in the LIRR strike, identifying payments to hotels that market themselves as premium, resorts, casinos and restaurants where menu prices sit above typical casual dining costs.
Exclusive: Major transportation union poured millions into Dem politics, casinos as workers got sold out, report finds
May 20, 2026 // The American Accountability Foundation report alleges SMART-TD poured money into Democratic candidates and liberal groups while spending heavily on entertainment, travel, casinos and resorts. The report also argues the spending shows union leadership is out of step with the purportedly “MAGA” blue-collar workers it represents.
N.Y.C. Hotel Housekeepers Will Earn Over $100,000 Under New Contract
May 19, 2026 // “They’re going to try to offset that by raising rates,” he said. But how successful they would be is unclear, given that New York City already has the highest average room rates of any big city in the United States, at about $335 a night, Mr. Pequeno said. In the past year, New York hotels have also had the nation’s highest occupancy rate, at about 84 percent, he said. The agreement between the hotel workers and the industry comes about six weeks before the expiration of the current 14-year contract. For more than a year, union officials had been preparing for a strike in early July, just before the celebration of the 250th birthday of the United States and the final of FIFA’s World Cup tournament at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Possible LIRR strike could happen Saturday if no deal is reached
May 12, 2026 // The union representing LIRR workers is pushing for higher pay, but MTA leaders warn that agreeing to those demands could trigger significant fare hikes. Five unions representing 3,500 workers, including engineers, signalmen and trainmen, are threatening to strike if an agreement cannot be reached.
Long Island Rail Road Strike Looms, as M.T.A. and Unions Reach Impasse
April 13, 2026 // Five unions representing more than 3,500 workers have threatened for months to walk off the job unless they receive bigger raises than other divisions of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the state agency that runs the railroad. The unions, which represent engineers, machinists, signalmen and other jobs critical to the rail operation, are seeking a retroactive 9.5 percent wage increase covering the last three years — the same offered to many other New York transit and civil servant unions. But they also want an additional 5 percent raise starting in 2026. The M.T.A. has argued that such a divergence in pay would upset the typical pattern for wage increases established with other groups, and would not be feasible unless the unions compromised on other aspects of the contract.
Opinion: Hochul must shame LIRR unions —by revealing their outrageous strike demands
September 15, 2025 // The agency’s overtime spending regularly stands out by national standards (only periodically rivaled by the MTA’s other big rail outfit, Metro-North, which is stuck operating under the federal law that governs the LIRR). LIRR employees in 2023 made an average of more than $26,000 each in overtime alone.