Reagan Acts to Halt New York Rail Strike

President Reagan on Wednesday signed legislation ordering striking Long Island Rail Road workers back on the job, meaning service could be restored for the line’s 112,000 commuters within 48 hours.

With some reservations, Reagan signed a resolution rushed through Congress a day earlier that requires the workers to return to their jobs for 60 days, a “cooling off” period that is designed to help union and railroad negotiators reach a settlement.

‘Enormous Hardship’

“The urgency with which this legislation was passed reflects the enormous hardship visited upon the communities served by the Long Island Rail Road that has been caused by the current strike,” Reagan said in a written statement.

However, Reagan questioned whether the government should intervene in the labor dispute, noting that federal railway labor law was supposed to be invoked only if a strike threatened “essential transportation services.”

“Characterizing the shutdown of the Long Island Rail Road as a threat to essential transportation services could have the undesirable effect of requiring federal involvement in the future in a multitude of local disputes which should be settled by collective bargaining,” Reagan said.

Settlements Reached

The Long Island Rail Road has reached settlements or agreed to arbitration with 10 unions.

One of the five remaining striking unions, the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, announced that it would return to work as a result of the congressional action.

But a spokesman for a coalition of four shop unions said members may vote to defy the order, which he said was “greeted with disappointment.”

“As far as we’re concerned, we’re still on strike,” David Morris, vice president of Local 589 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, said shortly after Reagan signed the resolution. He said the coalition represented 2,500 workers.

“Defying is still an option,” he said. “We’ll have our lawyers look into what would happen to us. Then, we will sit back with our board and then come to a decision.”

Railroad spokesman Jim Burns would not comment on Morris’ statements, saying company officers had not been in contact with the unions since the resolution was signed.

Workers to Get Letters

Burns said all workers will receive letters ordering them back to work.

Meanwhile, railroad executives were attempting to restore train service to 700 miles of track, which entails finding employees and alerting them to return to work.

“We have 22 miles of platform that has to be cleared of snow and we will also have to go up and down our 700 miles of track to get the rust off,” spokesman Donald Malone said.