The chairman of New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority got the message he expected in Washington: Congress will not intervene if Long Island Rail Road workers strike.
Thomas Prendergast on July 9 met with seven members of the New York congressional delegation to kick off a day of meetings in the nation's capital.
Eight unions representing 5,400 LIRR employees have threatened to walk as soon as July 20, and only Congress has the authority to prevent those unions from striking. Prendergast has accused the unions of stalling to get Congress to step in.
That triggered an angry response from chief union spokesman Anthony Simon. "Let's not look to Congress," he said Tuesday after the latest round of discussions produced nothing. "Let's not look to anybody but both parties. There's a deal to be had. Let's have it."
The MTA two weeks ago sweetened its offer to 17% raises over seven years, including a retroactive period to 2010. The offer also calls for health care contributions of 2% from existing employees and 4% from new employees. The LIRR's largest labor organization, the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Union, has called the offer unacceptable.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is reluctant to broker an agreement as he did with the Transport Workers Union of America Local 100, which represents subway workers. The Federal Railway Act governs LIRR and its labor contracts, while the MTA is a state agency.
