MTAleadership and representatives of five Long Island Rail Road unions returned to the bargaining table late Friday morning and were still negotiating around 2 p.m., less than 12 hours until the coalition of rail workers has said they willgo on strikeif their demands for wage increases are not met.

If the walkout happens, some 300,000 daily commuters who rely upon the LIRR would need to find an alternate way to get around. Officials have said the MTA’s announced contingency plans — including shuttle buses to replace train service — would not be enough to alleviate expected traffic.

The talks followed a separate two-hour bargaining session between the MTA and TWU Local 100 — the union representing the largest number of agency employees, nearly 40,000 — earlier Friday morning. TWU is alsonegotiating its new contract,with the current one expiring on Saturday; the union has yet to announce any potential job actions.

Talks resumed on May 15 following a marathon of nearly 12 hours of negotiations on Thursday.Gary Dellaverson, the MTA’s outside labor counsel and chief negotiator, told reporters Thursday night that it was a “long and relatively frustrating day.” However, he said he remains “confident” that a resolution can be reached before the strike deadline at 12:01 a.m. on May 16.“I’m always optimistic that this process that I’ve been engaged in for basically my entire adult life can result in a successful resolution,” Dellaverson said. “I believe that as long as you come in in good faith and you work hard towards a resolution, you can find a common ground, you can find an agreement. So I remain confident and optimistic that that will be true. But again, as everybody knows, dancing takes two partners.”CloseGet amNY in your inbox!News, events, culture and more — delivered to you.Thank you for subscribing!Dellaverson said that MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber joined the May 14 talks, which he said helped with “setting the tone of how important this is” to the agency.Meanwhile, Kevin Sexton, vice president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen (BLET), one of the five unions negotiating with the MTA, claimed in a statement that the transit agency has “finally started negotiating real wages.”Nick Peluso, national vice president of the Transportation Communications Union, said the MTA is now offering an over 3% raise for 2026, the fourth year of the contract they are hashing out, after previously proposing just 3%. At the same time, he said the union has reduced its demand for a 5% raise this year to somewhere between 4% and 5%.“The key question is: Will MTA and Gov. [Kathy] Hochul create frustration and gridlock for commuters, spend millions on buses during a strike, and lose millions in revenue over what amounts to roughly a one percent difference in wages?” Peluso said in a statement.But theycontinued to slamthe MTA’s offer of a lump-sum, rather than recurring, raise for 2026 that would make the amount it is offering for this year equivalent to a 4.5% raise as a “gimmick.”Who’s striking?The five unions threatening to go on strike — BLET, TCU, the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS), the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) — collectively represent 3,500 LIRR workers.They cover LIRR engineers, electricians, signal inspectors, machinists and ticket agents, who account for over half of the railroad’s workforce.What happens if there’s no deal by midnight?If the unions do not reach a deal with the MTA by 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, they will walk off the job, bringing the country’s largest commuter rail system to a halt.The MTA is encouraging any Long Islanders who can to work from home during the strike rather than attempt to commute.For those who need to go into the city, it will offerlimited shuttle busesduring the morning peak, from 4;30 to 9 a.m., toward the city, and the afternoon peak, between 3 and 7 p.m., back toward Long Island. However, officials have warned that the buses will hardly be a full substitute for regular rail service.The shuttles will run every 10 minutes, departing from and returning to LIRR stations accross Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Those include Huntington, Ronkonoma, Bay Shore, Hempstead Lake State Park, Hicksville, and Mineola.Buses departing from the first two stations will offload and pick up riders from the Jamaica-179th St F train station in Queens. Those coming from the other four stations will conduct drop-offs and pick-ups from Queens’ Howard Beach-JFK Airport A train station.Shuttle buses from Bay Shore, Huntington, and Ronkonkoma will also offer reverse peak service, according to the MTA website.The MTA is also encouraging Nassau County riders to take the Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) to and from subway stations in eastern Queens.

Gary Dellaverson, the MTA’s outside labor counsel and chief negotiator, told reporters Thursday night that it was a “long and relatively frustrating day.” However, he said he remains “confident” that a resolution can be reached before the strike deadline at 12:01 a.m. on May 16.

“I’m always optimistic that this process that I’ve been engaged in for basically my entire adult life can result in a successful resolution,” Dellaverson said. “I believe that as long as you come in in good faith and you work hard towards a resolution, you can find a common ground, you can find an agreement. So I remain confident and optimistic that that will be true. But again, as everybody knows, dancing takes two partners.”

Dellaverson said that MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber joined the May 14 talks, which he said helped with “setting the tone of how important this is” to the agency.Meanwhile, Kevin Sexton, vice president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen (BLET), one of the five unions negotiating with the MTA, claimed in a statement that the transit agency has “finally started negotiating real wages.”Nick Peluso, national vice president of the Transportation Communications Union, said the MTA is now offering an over 3% raise for 2026, the fourth year of the contract they are hashing out, after previously proposing just 3%. At the same time, he said the union has reduced its demand for a 5% raise this year to somewhere between 4% and 5%.“The key question is: Will MTA and Gov. [Kathy] Hochul create frustration and gridlock for commuters, spend millions on buses during a strike, and lose millions in revenue over what amounts to roughly a one percent difference in wages?” Peluso said in a statement.But theycontinued to slamthe MTA’s offer of a lump-sum, rather than recurring, raise for 2026 that would make the amount it is offering for this year equivalent to a 4.5% raise as a “gimmick.”Who’s striking?The five unions threatening to go on strike — BLET, TCU, the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS), the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) — collectively represent 3,500 LIRR workers.They cover LIRR engineers, electricians, signal inspectors, machinists and ticket agents, who account for over half of the railroad’s workforce.What happens if there’s no deal by midnight?If the unions do not reach a deal with the MTA by 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, they will walk off the job, bringing the country’s largest commuter rail system to a halt.The MTA is encouraging any Long Islanders who can to work from home during the strike rather than attempt to commute.For those who need to go into the city, it will offerlimited shuttle busesduring the morning peak, from 4;30 to 9 a.m., toward the city, and the afternoon peak, between 3 and 7 p.m., back toward Long Island. However, officials have warned that the buses will hardly be a full substitute for regular rail service.The shuttles will run every 10 minutes, departing from and returning to LIRR stations accross Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Those include Huntington, Ronkonoma, Bay Shore, Hempstead Lake State Park, Hicksville, and Mineola.Buses departing from the first two stations will offload and pick up riders from the Jamaica-179th St F train station in Queens. Those coming from the other four stations will conduct drop-offs and pick-ups from Queens’ Howard Beach-JFK Airport A train station.Shuttle buses from Bay Shore, Huntington, and Ronkonkoma will also offer reverse peak service, according to the MTA website.The MTA is also encouraging Nassau County riders to take the Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) to and from subway stations in eastern Queens.

Meanwhile, Kevin Sexton, vice president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen (BLET), one of the five unions negotiating with the MTA, claimed in a statement that the transit agency has “finally started negotiating real wages.”

Nick Peluso, national vice president of the Transportation Communications Union, said the MTA is now offering an over 3% raise for 2026, the fourth year of the contract they are hashing out, after previously proposing just 3%. At the same time, he said the union has reduced its demand for a 5% raise this year to somewhere between 4% and 5%.

“The key question is: Will MTA and Gov. [Kathy] Hochul create frustration and gridlock for commuters, spend millions on buses during a strike, and lose millions in revenue over what amounts to roughly a one percent difference in wages?” Peluso said in a statement.

Source: LI Press