Trains don’t run themselves. The Long Island Railroad, which is owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, relies on a highly skilled workforce to keep trains running 24/7 from Manhattan to the end of Long Island.
However, most of LIRR’s workers haven’t had a raise in three (3) years — despite a dramatic increase in overall inflation during that period.
The five labor unions which represent the majority of the LIRR’s workforce, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS), International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and the Transportation Communications Union (TCU) are currently in contract negotiations with the MTA/LIRR and have been engaged in mediation, to no avail. Railroad management’s 38-month wage proposal which calls for steep increases in health insurance for new hires doesn’t address the recent inflation spikes. The MTA/LIRR proposal would result in a loss in real wages for all the LIRR’s railroaders who would be covered by the agreement.
The decision-makers at MTA/LIRR are off track. They’re very focused on a “Capital Plan” to fund infrastructure improvements and new railcars through the end of the decade. While capital improvements are needed, LIRR’s managers need to be reminded that trains don’t run themselves. The railroad must adequately address the needs of their human assets: the hard-working, skilled employees who keep the trains running and safely move hundreds of thousands of rail passengers every week.
Please support the people who get your constituents safely to their destination. Support a fair wage increase for the LIRR workforce. Keep the trains running.
Click here and send a letter to support the workers on LIRR.
