NEW YORK: Long Island Railroad Workers Union Vows To Strike By Week's End

Union officials yesterday declared that Long Island Railroad workers will walk off the job one minute after midnight on Saturday.

“I regret to report that negotiations have collapsed with the MTA, and all eight unions are now proceeding with strike plans for July 20,” said Anthony Simon, chief spokesman for the union coalition. The workers have been without a contract since 2010. Both sides in the bitter labor fight acknowledged they were far apart on terms of a potential contract that would spare the railroad’s more than 300,000 daily riders the pain of a work stoppage. Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Tom Prendergast walked out of the talks 45 minutes in, and said there was a “gulf” between the sides. The MTA’s current offer is for 17% pay hikes over seven years, also retroactive to 2010. But the agency also wants new hires to work twice as long as current workers to reach top salaries for their positions, and to pay more for health care (4%) and pensions (contributions over an employee’s entire employment, as opposed to just 10 years for existing staffers).

Monday's commute should be interesting...