NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) — New York’s Long Island Rail Road, the biggest commuter line in the US, is facing a potential strike next week as locomotive engineers currently vote on whether to authorize a work stoppage — and Governor Kathy Hochul is blaming President Donald Trump for the growing crisis.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, which represents about 600 workers at the LIRR, have rejected a proposed 9.5% pay increase, according to John J. McCarthy, chief of policy and external relations at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the LIRR. The 9.5% raise would occur over three years, similar to agreements with its subway and bus workers.
If approved, the strike could begin as soon as Sept. 18. Hochul or the MTA could ask the Trump administration to convene a presidential emergency board to extend talks and avert a shutdown. The governor on Wednesday declined to say if she would make that request, but pointed to the federal National Mediation Board’s decision last month to release the parties from mandatory mediation, which allows the union to strike if it chooses…