Long Island Rail Road service suspended as workers take to the picket lines

NEW YORK (PIX11) — Workers from one of the largest rail systems in the country stood on the picket line at 7 a.m. Saturday after the MTA and Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) unions were unable to reach an agreement at midnight.

Service was suspended after negotiators were unable to reach a deal by the 12:01 a.m. deadline. It marks the first LIRR strike in almost four decades. The disruption is expected to impact as many as 300,000 commuters, according to the MTA.

Travelers trying to find other ways to and from the island were advised to prepare for delays as more drivers were expected to take to the roads, especially major routes heading into the city.

“For the commuters out there, this is not a fight against them,” said Paul, a locomotive engineer who stood on the picket line outside Penn Station on Saturday morning. “We apologize for this, but unfortunately, this is what it’s come to because the MTA does not bargain in good faith.”

“I and my MTA board have been clear that we cannot responsibly make a deal that implodes the MTA’s budget,” said MTA CEO Janno Lieber at a press conference shortly after the midnight deadline. “And we absolutely refuse to make a deal that puts it on riders and taxpayers to fund outside wage increases, which is far beyond what anyone else at the MTA is getting.”

Why are LIRR workers on strike?

The five unions representing LIRR workers are seeking a 5........

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