Posts tagged MTA
How Much Overtime Did MTA Workers Earn?
June 24, 2026 // A recent report from The Empire Center for Public Policy found that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) paid out $1.46 billion in overtime last year, which was 8% higher than the year before. The report also found that 34 MTA employees made more than $200,000 in overtime. Citing data from SeeThroughNY, the think tank found that “the MTA’s overtime champion” for the second year in a row was Bridges & Tunnels (B&T), with the top three making two to three times more in OT than their regular pay. Edwin Lee, a lieutenant with B&T, topped all OT earners with $359,794. In 2025, between his overtime and his regular pay, Lee earned $528,809 in that one year.
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.
Reason: Union Summer
May 21, 2026 // They're at it again: Yesterday, the unions representing the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) workers reached an agreement with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the state agency that runs the railroad. It's not yet clear what's in the agreement, but the demands of the striking workers were rather extraordinary: Pay raises of 5 percent, plus three years of retroactive raises since their last contract was hammered out in 2022. This might make sense if they were destitute, but they are not: "More than 325 Long Island Rail Road workers are raking in over $100,000 a year in overtime on top of their lucrative salaries, with 11 of them netting at least twice that huge figure in OT," reports New York Post (below yesterday's perfect headline: "Gravy Train").
Op-ed: This LIRR Strike Should Be the Last
May 20, 2026 // Public employees in New York do not have the right to strike. The RLA, however, supersedes state law, effectively granting the railroad’s workers this right. Much has changed over a century, and this exception should no longer apply. In 1966, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority absorbed the LIRR, making the railroad a public employer. In 1980, federal courts rejected an attempt to enforce New York’s strike prohibition, in part because the LIRR was still hauling freight at that time. It no longer does. Nonetheless, the federal exemption has proved a powerful tool for the LIRR’s unions. Each time their labor contracts come up for negotiation, these groups threaten LIRR riders, and New York governors, with stoppages. They’ve carried out the threat before, most recently in 1987 and 1994.
LIRR resumes trains after tentative deal ends three-day strike
May 19, 2026 // A deal was reached just before 9 p.m. Monday after intense negotiations throughout the weekend. The strike officially ended at midnight, but train service didn't resume until noon Tuesday. The MTA's strike contingency plan remained in effect for Tuesday's morning rush, including the limited free shuttle bus service.
New Yorkers bracing for commuter chaos as LIRR workers remain on strike
May 17, 2026 // MTA Chairman Janno Lieber told reporters Sunday that the MTA refuses to make a deal that forces riders and taxpayers to fund wage increases for workers who, he contended, are already the highest-paid railroad employees in the nation. Nearly 300,000 daily commuters are affected by the strike, according to the MTA.
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.
MTA chairman: Workers would be ‘crazy’ to walk off job as LIRR strike threat looms
May 11, 2026 // "It's time for everybody to get serious about the fact that if you go on strike for one day, you are literally flushing money down the toilet for your workers," Lieber said. Five unions, representing 3,500 workers, are threatening to strike beginning on May 16. "If there is a work stoppage, there is going to be a complete and total shutdown of operations," O'Connor said.
Op-ed: Kathy Hochul and Bruce Blakeman must BOTH stand up to the union thugs threatening an LIRR strike
April 28, 2026 // To avoid a strike, the agency generously offered pay hikes of 4.5% in the fourth year, but the unions would have to agree to fix some perverse work rules to produce savings. Under one rule, for example, an engineer who operates a diesel train and an electric train on the same day must be paid for two days.