No Deal —Why Trump shouldn’t touch LIRR union – Latest News
A strike on the Long Island Rail Road was averted — for now — as union officers took an unprecedented transfer Monday to ask the Trump administration to intervene. A coalition of 5 unions desires the feds to put collectively a presidential emergency board, labor leaders stated during a press convention — as they took quite a few photographs on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Gov. Hochul. But the Manhattan Institute’s Ken Girardin explains why it’s a unhealthy concept:
Labor unions representing Long Island Rail Road staff went full-steam forward this month towards a harmful strike, solely to hit the brakes when the Hochul administration didn’t blink.
Now they’re interesting to the Dealmaker-in-Chief, President Trump, to help them save face.
For the sake of Long Island commuters, New York taxpayers and his own credibility relating to authorities effectivity, President Trump ought to say no, and reroute them back to the identical negotiating desk that labor walked away from.
The unions representing about half of LIRR staff for weeks have been threatening to stroll off the job.
But this week, as their Thursday deadline neared, they modified their tune, and stated they’re asking President Trump to nominate a federal board to help settle their yearslong contract dispute.
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“This action does not mean a strike won’t happen,” one of the union heads stated. “But it does mean it won’t happen now.”
Stalling for time
For these of you who don’t converse Long Island: The unions try to play Trump.
The findings of a Presidential Emergency Board, which they need Trump to create, aren’t binding. As they made clear Monday, they may nonetheless go on strike and cripple the nation’s busiest commuter rail service.
PEBs usually do a poor job of getting within the weeds about what’s stopping a deal.
In this case, the core drawback is that the Long Island Rail Road remains to be working prefer it’s the Nineteen Sixties, when it was acquired by New York state authorities.
Its engineers receives a commission an further day’s pay — generally more — in the event that they operate a diesel locomotive and an electric locomotive on the identical shift. Union work guidelines require LIRR to pay people further only for doing their common jobs and forestall LIRR from modifying their job descriptions in ways in which can be no-brainers within the personal sector.
A PEB obtained concerned between the LIRR and its unions in 1994, however wouldn’t touch “sensitive issues” about inefficient work guidelines. And the unions went on strike anyway.
The LIRR has supplied its employees vital raises (on high of its platinum-clad advantages) however demanded modifications to their inefficient work guidelines. But that might threaten the system that lets particular person LIRR staff take home over $100,000 (and generally more than $200,000) in additional time alone.
The unions as an alternative try to buy time as different transit contracts in New York come close to expiring, in order that they’ll mount a most stress marketing campaign subsequent yr — whereas the state price range is being negotiated and whereas the governor and state lawmakers are operating within the June main.
Losing state of affairs
It’s important to keep in mind that the Long Island Rail Road doesn’t make money. In reality, its mum or dad group (the Metropolitan Transportation Authority) will get most of its funding from New York companies and residents via a growing listing of taxes and different prices (such because the congestion pricing on Manhattan).
A more environment friendly transit operation might present higher service at a decrease value. The LIRR unions aren’t the one group standing in the way in which of that, however they’re definitely consultant examples.
If President Trump will get concerned and palms the unions the stalling tactic they need, his critics are more likely to blame him for inefficiencies and dysfunction that long predate his time in public workplace. His supporters on Long Island will get to pay more in taxes and fares for his or her bother.
Getting concerned with the LIRR labor dispute wouldn’t be a gamble for the White House — it might be a sure loser.
Fortunately it’s one they’ll simply keep away from.
Ken Girardin is a fellow on the Manhattan Institute.
