Overview
- Long Island Rail Road service is suspended after five unions representing about 3,500 workers walked out in the system’s first strike since 1994.
- Talks collapsed over pay and work rules as unions pressed for their first raise since 2022.
- The MTA is running emergency buses that can carry about 13,000 riders in the morning and 13,000 in the afternoon.
- Officials urged people to work from home and warned drivers to expect heavy traffic and slower access to JFK Airport and hospitals.
- Governor Kathy Hochul criticized the strike as reckless, and the MTA said meeting union demands could mean fare hikes of about 8 percent or service cuts, with no new talks set.