REGIONAL — WITH A STRIKE LOOMING, Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday labeled wage demands by five Long Island Rail Road unions unrealistic and called for them to return to the bargaining table but also pointed an accusatory finger at President Donald Trump and his administration’s National Mediation Board, which ended negotiations with the unions on Aug. 18.
“The reckless actions of the Trump administration’s National Mediation Board pushed this dispute toward a strike instead of keeping talks on track,” Hochul said in a statement. “Make no mistake, this is a strike encouraged by Donald Trump and enabled by his allies in Washington.” She also highlighted the “continued inaction and silence” of Long Island’s two Republican members of Congress. Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, one of the five unions involved, are turning in their ballots Monday.
In a press conference last Wednesday, Hochul was asked by a reporter if the White House could intervene in the threatened strike, which could go into effect as soon as Thursday. “The White House already intervened, and they screwed us in the process,” she replied.
✰✰✰
