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 Monday 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.
For many commuters who rely on the Lynbrook station, the end of the strike came as a relief after several days of working remotely, navigating alternate routes and adjusting daily routines.
David Ofman, a Woodmere resident who regularly commutes into Manhattan from the Lynbrook station, said he was relieved to hear the strike had been resolved after he spent the weekend testing different routes into the city.
“I am overly thrilled that the strike is coming to an end,” Ofman said.
He took the ferry from Beach Channel to Wall Street on Monday morning, during the work stoppage, Ofman said, but the trip still required a lengthy drive to and from the ferry terminal.
“It was a beautiful ride, but it was also a half-hour drive to and from the ferry,” he said.
On Tuesday morning, Ofman said, he drove to Far Rockaway to take the A train into Manhattan, which, he said, “also involves a 15-minute car drive and a subway ride of an hour to Lower Manhattan.”
Kevin Mitchell, a Woodmere resident who worked remotely during the strike, said he wasn’t surprised that train service didn’t immediately resume after the agreement was announced.
“I’m assuming a deal was reached late and they had to give workers advanced notice they were opening up again,” Mitchell said. “I’m not familiar with the logistics involved in restarting the LIRR.”
During the strike, Mitchell worked from home instead of commuting into the city from the Lynbrook station.
Nadine Wiesel, who also takes a train from Lynbrook into Manhattan several times a week, said she was pleased the strike had ended but still had concerns about what the agreement could mean for riders financially.
“We’re happy, but haven’t yet seen the terms of the agreement and what that would mean in terms of increases in railroad ticket prices,” Wiesel said.
“We have good news tonight,” Kevin Sexton, vice president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the spokesman for the Long Island Railroad Bargaining Coalition, said at a news conference on Monday night. “We’re pleased to announce that the parties have reached an agreement.”
Sexton said that the details of the agreement would not immediately be released because union members still need to review and vote on the deal during a 30-day ratification period.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said the agreement was reached after continued bargaining focused on balancing fair wages for workers while protecting commuters from fare increases.
“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 on Monday. “The contract achieved two principles: protecting affordability for Long Islanders and commuters while giving fair wages to the employees.”
Officials said the LIRR would begin restoring service in phases starting Tuesday, with limited hourly service returning on four main branches before expanding systemwide later in the day. Contingency shuttle bus service was expected to continue temporarily as train service ramped back up.
This was the first Long Island Rail Road strike since June 17, 1994, when a two-day work stoppage ended with a contract settlement.
