President orders second emergency board in escalating Long Island Rail Road labor dispute, further delaying potential strike that would affect hundreds of thousands of commuters across the region.
Federal intervention pushes LIRR strike threat to mid-2026
A long-simmering labor dispute between the Long Island Rail Road and thousands of its workers just got a presidential intervention — again.
An Executive Order dated January 14, 2026, establishes a second Emergency Board to investigate ongoing disputes between the LIRR and employees represented by five labor unions, with the board set to begin work on January 16 at 12:01 a.m. EST, the White House announced.
The unions involved include the Transportation Communications Union, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers — representing over 3,000 LIRR employees who have been working without a pay raise since April 2022, according to multiple sources.
“We felt compelled to request a second PEB because of LIRR and the MTA’s refusal to bargain in good faith,” said Gilman Lang, general chairman for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen at the LIRR.
This marks the second time federal authorities have stepped in. A first emergency board (PEB 253) was established on September 18, 2025, through Executive Order 14349, but its recommendations — including a 14% raise over four years — failed to bring all parties to agreement, with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority particularly resistant.
Why can’t they reach agreement?
At the heart of the dispute is money. Union representatives say LIRR workers deserve more than the carrier’s offers of 9% or 9.5% over three years, while MTA officials have reportedly balked at the first emergency board’s recommendations.
“We didn’t agree with everything in the first PEB, known as Presidential Emergency Board 253, but those recommendations should have been used as the foundation for further negotiations,” said Nick Peluso, national vice president of the Transportation Communications Union.
The creation of a second Presidential Emergency Board adds another 120 days to the Railway Labor Act process, effectively delaying any potential strike until mid-May 2026 while maintaining status quo working conditions.
That delay comes as welcome news for the approximately 270,000 daily LIRR riders who would be left scrambling for alternative transportation in the event of a work stoppage. Still, it merely postpones rather than resolves the underlying issues.
The threat of a strike remains very real. A remarkable 99% of 529 LIRR engineers voted to authorize a strike, but union leadership opted to pursue federal intervention through the Railway Labor Act process instead of immediately walking off the job.
“The Carrier’s recent conduct has been deliberate,” said Jeff Klein, general chairman for IBEW at LIRR, suggesting that management’s approach has only hardened union resolve.
For Long Island commuters, the second emergency board buys precious time, but the clock is ticking toward what could be a significant disruption to the nation’s busiest commuter railroad if no agreement materializes during this extended negotiation period.
