N.Y. Rail Strike Deadline Extended Again; Talks Continue
With tempers running short, exhausted union negotiators pushed back a strike deadline Saturday and gave themselves another day to reach agreement with the nation’s largest commuter railroad.
“I think the people just ran out of steam,” Long Island Rail Road President Bruce McIver said, explaining why a deadline of 6 a.m. Saturday had been pushed back 24 hours.
“There were tempers in the room up there,” said John Caggiano, business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, one of 11 unions negotiating with the commuter railroad. Explaining the unions’ decision to postpone a strike, he said: “The ultimate goal is to reach a settlement, not get into the street.”
Late Friday the union announced it would extend its midnight strike deadline to early Saturday. After the second deadline extension was announced Saturday, negotiators broke to rest before resuming negotiations in the evening.
A walkout would affect 272,000 passengers who commute daily into New York City from Long Island.
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