The three-day Long Island Rail Road strike ended late Monday after five unions and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority reached a tentative agreement following several days of negotiations, officials announced at an evening news conference.
Union and MTA representatives announced the deal after negotiations resumed in the afternoon and continued into the night, ending the work stoppage that had halted service and caused widespread travel disruptions across Long Island and in New York City.
“We have good news tonight,” Kevin Sexton, vice president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and spokesman for the Long Island Railroad Bargaining Coalition, said. “We’re pleased to announce that the parties have reached an agreement.”
The shutdown began after five railroad unions went on strike at 12:01 a.m. Saturday following the expiration of a federally mandated cooling-off period. The strike affected unions representing signalmen, electricians, clerks, machinists and locomotive engineers, impacting thousands of railroad workers and hundreds of thousands of daily riders.
By Monday morning, Baldwin commuters who typically rely on the LIRR station at Sunrise Highway and Grand Avenue to reach New York City were turning to remote work, shuttle buses, carpools, rideshares and longer drives.
For some Baldwin riders, the strike created immediate financial concerns as the workweek began.
Before the agreement was announced, Julie Rosado, of Baldwin, said the strike would cause her and her partner to lose a significant amount of money.
“If it lasts more than a day or two, the impact would be critical for us,” Rosado said.
Other commuters said remote work helped them avoid the worst of the disruption. Jeremy Tice, a software engineer who lives in Baldwin, said he planned to work from home during the strike. Before the shutdown, he commuted from the Baldwin station to Midtown Manhattan three days a week.
“Most of my team is already working remotely,” Tice said. “The benefits of being in an office aren’t worth the headaches of driving in the city or figuring out what bus replacement lines are running.”
The strike also underscored a divide among commuters. Some office workers were able to shift to remote work, while others whose jobs require them to be on site faced the possibility of lost wages, higher transportation costs or longer commutes. The disruption also added pressure to local roads as more commuters drove or sought alternate routes.
“I noticed more accidents on the road during my commute yesterday,” said Ally Moscatelli, a Baldwin High School teacher who commutes from Ronkonkoma to Baldwin. “It is very clear that the MTA saw what it did for one weekday commute and was like, ‘OK, guys, come back to the table and let’s work it out.’”
The MTA activated a contingency plan during the shutdown that included limited weekday shuttle bus service for essential workers and commuters unable to work remotely. Shuttle buses operated during peak commuting hours between six Long Island locations — Bay Shore, Hempstead Lake State Park near the Lakeview train station, Hicksville, Huntington, Mineola and Ronkonkoma — and subway connection points in Queens, including the Howard Beach-JFK Airport A train station and the Jamaica-179 Street F train station.
But some South Shore riders said the backup plan left gaps for communities that rely heavily on local LIRR stations, including Baldwin, Freeport, Merrick and Bellmore.
George McCook, of Baldwin, said he was frustrated that the plan did not include a shuttle stop closer to Baldwin and other South Shore communities.
“I am shocked the MTA has no plans to have any buses anywhere near any Nassau County Long Island Rail Road stations,” McCook said. “The closest one is Bay Shore. What is anyone going to do?”
Sexton said details of the tentative agreement would not be released immediately, citing the need for member review ahead of ratification votes. However, public radio station WNYC reported that the four-year deal includes retroactive pay and expires in July 2027.
“Due to the nature of the negotiations, we cannot discuss the specifics,” Sexton said. “What I can say is we are looking forward to our members getting back to work and doing what they do best, which is serving the region.”
He added that any premature disclosure of details could complicate ratification.
“We don’t want to fail ratification,” Sexton said. “If they get part of this story through the media, it may impact their decision.”
The agreement is subject to a 30-day period in which union members will review and vote on the tentative deal before it becomes official.
Sexton also said tensions escalated late in negotiations Friday night, when the MTA introduced proposed health care contributions for newly hired employees, an issue he said had not previously been part of bargaining discussions.
“Late in the 11th hour, the railroad decided to throw health care contributions for new employees, which was never discussed in bargaining,” Sexton said during the strike.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said the agreement was reached after continued bargaining focused on balancing worker pay with affordability for commuters and taxpayers.
“I’m truly pleased to share that the five Long Island Rail Road unions and the MTA were able to come together and reach a fair deal this evening,” Hochul said. “The contract achieved two principles: protecting affordability for Long Islanders and commuters while giving fair wages to the employees.”
Hochul said roughly 3,500 LIRR employees would receive raises under the agreement, while fare and tax increases would not be part of the deal.
“I also did not accept a deal for compromise affordability for Long Islanders,” she said. “At a time when everything is going up, I’m not going to allow taxes or fares to go up. Period. Full stop. Got it done.”
Officials said the LIRR would begin restoring service in phases starting Tuesday at noon, with limited hourly service on four main branches before expanding systemwide service later in the day. The MTA said the contingency bus service that operated during the shutdown would continue Tuesday morning before being phased out as train service ramped up.
Additional details on full system restoration were expected as crews completed inspections, repositioned equipment and returned employees to scheduled assignments.
It was the first Long Island Rail Road strike since June 17, 1994. That strike lasted two days before a contract settlement was reached.
