{"id":2603954,"date":"2026-05-18T11:36:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T15:36:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-yorkers-commute-slammed-by-lirr-strike\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T11:39:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T15:39:11","slug":"new-yorkers-commute-slammed-by-lirr-strike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-yorkers-commute-slammed-by-lirr-strike\/","title":{"rendered":"New Yorkers&#8217; commute slammed by LIRR strike"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnew-yorkers-commute-slammed-by-lirr-strike%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2603954&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>New York City\u2019s Monday morning commute fell into chaos after Long Island rail Road (LIRR) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kelloggs-retreats-from-replacing-striking-workers-cuts-deal-with-union\/\" title=\"Kellogg&#039;s Retreats from Replacing Striking ...ers, Cuts Deal with Union\">workers continued<\/a> a strike for higher wages. Workers began picketing Saturday when negotiations between their unions and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority reached an impasse. The strike shut down all 11 LIRR branches, disrupting rail service for roughly 300,000 daily riders-the first LIRR strike in more then three decades.<\/p>\n<p>Many commuters drove or used buses rather. The MTA launched an <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >alternate shuttle bus service<\/a> to subway connections in queens from Ronkonkoma, Bay Shore, and Hempstead, but the shuttles reportedly could move only a fraction of regular riders. Gov. Kathy Hochul urged peopel who could work from home to do so, and Mayor Zohran Mamdani warned residents to expect longer trips and heavier traffic while directing the NYPD to assist traffic flow.<\/p>\n<p>The strike is organized by the teamsters and the Brotherhood of Locomotive engineers and Trainmen. The unions say about 3,500 striking workers haven\u2019t <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump...s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">received wage increases<\/a> in three years, and they accuse the railroad of offering inadequate wages and benefits. Hochul, meanwhile, said the MTA can\u2019t agree to a deal that would raise fares by as much as 8% and increase taxes. Negotiations resumed Sunday and were ongoing at the time of the report.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/new-york-city\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"286\">New York City\u2019s<\/a> Monday morning commute turned to chaos this week as <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/railroads\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1328\">Long Island Rail Road<\/a> workers continued their <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/strikes\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"2117\">strike<\/a> for higher wages.<\/p>\n<p>LIRR workers began picketing on Saturday after negotiations between their unions and the Metropolitan <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/public-transportation\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"3181\">Transportation<\/a> Authority reached an impasse. The strike caused all 11 branches of the LIRR to shut down, obfuscating the commutes of the railroad\u2019s approximate 300,000 daily passengers on Monday morning. This is the first LIRR strike in over three decades.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/entertainment\/4569400\/paramount-podcast-deal-katie-miller\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Paramount considers podcast deal with Stephen Miller\u2019s wife: Report<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/business\/4568698\/european-mp-join-congressmen-scrutinize-paramount-wbd-merger\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>European legislators join members of Congress in scrutinizing Paramount-WBD merger<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/business\/4568052\/allegiant-sun-country-merge-fill-budget-airline-gap-spirit\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Allegiant and Sun Country merge to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/paramount-considers-podcast-deal-with-stephen-millers-wife-report\/\" title=\"Paramount considers podcast deal with Stephen Miller&#039;s wife: ...\">fill budget-airline gap left<\/a> by Spirit<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>The commuters who take the LIRR largely either resorted to driving or busing into the city on Monday, making rush hour even more of a hassle on the roads. The MTA began an alternate <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mta.info\/map\/42406\">bus service<\/a> for the strike period, starting shuttle buses in Ronkonkoma, Bay Shore, and Hempstead, to take commuters to subway stations in Queens. Anyone <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mta.info\/map\/22461\">east<\/a> of those three bus stations had to find their own way to the stops.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Gov. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kathy-hochul\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"3278\">Kathy Hochul<\/a> (D-NY) encouraged New York City commuters to work from home during the strike. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s impossible to fully replace LIRR service. So effective Monday, I\u2019m asking that regular commuters who can work from home should. Please do so. And employers should make every accommodation necessary to allow for remote work,\u201d Hochul <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.governor.ny.gov\/news\/b-roll-video-audio-photos-rush-transcript-governor-hochul-holds-briefing-long-island-rail-road\">said<\/a> during a weekend press conference.<\/p>\n<p>The MTA bus shuttles could only transport <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nydailynews.com\/2026\/05\/18\/lirr-strike-monday-rush-hour\/\">13,000 <\/a>of the 300,000 typical LIRR commuters on Monday, according to the <em>New York Daily News<\/em>. Janno Lieber, chairman of the MTA, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/abc7ny.com\/live-updates\/lirr-strike-2026-update-mta\/19080853\/\">told<\/a> ABC 7 that most commuters seemed to heed Hochul\u2019s work-from-home directive.<\/p>\n<p>New York City Mayor <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/zohran-mamdani\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"11802\">Zohran Mamdani<\/a> told New Yorkers to plan for longer travel times and heavier traffic, and also notified the city that <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/nypd\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1446\">New York City Police Department<\/a> officers would be deployed along major roadways to help facilitate traffic. <\/p>\n<p>Mamdani, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/a-socialist-is-on-track-to-be-buffalos-next-mayor-after-defeating-democratic-incumbent\/\" title=\"A Socialist Is On Track To Be Buffalo...s Next Mayor After Defeating Democratic Incumbent\">socialist mayor<\/a> who has picketed with Starbucks workers and nurses, has not joined the LIRR workers on their picket line. Mamdani\u2019s public statements have been much more focused on the traffic chaos than the workers\u2019 arguments.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs negotiations between the MTA and workers continue and LIRR service remains suspended, the City is preparing for travel disruptions going into the workweek and New Yorkers should too,\u201d Mamdani <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NYCMayor\/status\/2056127724838588515?s=20\">said on Sunday<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Teamsters and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen are the two unions organizing the strike. They have argued that the 3,500 workers on strike have not received wage raises in three years as they bargain for new contracts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnion workers have sacrificed so much for the railroad for years while consistently bargaining in good faith for a fair contract,\u201d Teamsters General President Sean O\u2019Brien said in a statement. \u201cHundreds of thousands of commuters rely on our members\u2019 labor every day. The LIRR is stranding passengers while denying wages, benefits, and respect to BLET Teamsters and other hardworking union members.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/infrastructure\/4571484\/new-york-city-commuter-rail-union-strike\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"4571484\">NEW YORK CITY COMMUTER RAIL UNIONS START STRIKE AFFECTING 300,000 RIDERS DAILY<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Hochul has publicly pushed back on the unions\u2019 wage raise demands, saying \u201cthe MTA cannot agree to a contract that would raise fares as much as eight percent and risk hiking taxes for Long Islanders.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Negotiations resumed on Sunday and were currently underway as of press time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NYC commute chaos as LIRR workers strike for higher wages<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3976,"featured_media":2603955,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26136682959642.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[4741,38136,79860,32120,40582],"class_list":["post-2603954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-commuting","tag-labor-dispute","tag-lirr-strike","tag-new-york","tag-public-transit"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26136682959642.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2603954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3976"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2603954"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2603954\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2603958,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2603954\/revisions\/2603958"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2603955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2603954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2603954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2603954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}