On March 16, Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) 254, the second board assigned to the long-running contract dispute between a coalition of five railroad unions and the Long Island Rail Road, like an earlier appointed board of experts, recommended raises and retroactive pay for rail workers. The board also rejected the employer’s request for sweeping changes to contract language stating, “…the Carrier’s insistence on all of its work rule changes, in our view, makes its Final Offer the less reasonable of the two, regardless of the respective GWIs.”
Under the rules of the Railway Labor Act, the PEB was charged with selecting the most reasonable last offer; either the last offer of the unions in its entirety, or the last offer of the Long Island Rail Road, which is owned and operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. After comparing the two offers, the board selected the offer presented by the unions. The board found that at this late stage in the Railway Labor Act bargaining process, final negotiations should not be derailed by MTA’s belated calls for sweeping changes to work rules.
In a letter sent on March 16 to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, representatives of the five unions urged the MTA which operates the nation’s busiest commuter railroad to return to the bargaining table to reach a voluntary agreement using the PEB’s recommendations as a foundation for a settlement. The members of five rail unions, comprising a majority of LIRR’s unionized workforce, have been without a pay raise since April 2022, despite near record inflation.
If no agreement is reached in the next 60 days, the unions would be allowed to strike as soon as May 16 under the rules of the federal Railway Labor Act or the MTA could lock out its rail labor workforce on that date.
“Let’s get back to the bargaining table and agree to a fair settlement that takes away the threat of a disruption in service,” said Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen Vice President Kevin Sexton speaking on behalf of the labor coalition.
“What we’ve been asking for since negotiations commenced more than two years ago is exceedingly reasonable, essentially the status quo. In stark contrast, the employer has been seeking a concessionary contract that doesn’t keep pace with the high cost of living in our metropolitan area,” said Mike Sullivan who serves as general chairman of the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalman.
“This outcome confirms that our fight has been grounded in facts, equity, and the best interests of our members,” said Shaun O’Connor general chairman of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
“The Board’s report confirms that labor acted responsibly throughout this process and deserves a fair contract,” said Jeffrey Klein who serves as general chairman of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
“Our labor coalition and management both made presentations to the board,” said Nick Peluso national vice president of the Transportation Communications Union. “The board members reviewed the facts, and the facts supported labor. It’s now the time for our employer and Governor Hochul to show some support for the workers and the commuters that rely on the LIRR. Let’s get this done and keep the trains running.”
The board members in their report made it clear that MTA should bargain in good faith writing, “Based on the foregoing analysis of both the respective wage offers and the Carriers work rule proposals, we find that the Organizations’ (the unions) Final Offer is the most reasonable offer.”
The coalition of five rail unions includes the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS), the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), and the Transportation Communications Union (TCU).