What's Going On: Labor Monday with Bob Hennelly
Close to 300,000 Long Island commuters had to improvise their way to work today on day three of the LIRR strike.
At midnight on Saturday the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS), the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), and the Transportation Communications Union (TCU) went out on strike after four years without a raise.
Jim Louis, Vice President of the Brotherhood of Locomotive and Trainmen, explained the lengthy process required by the Railroad Labor Relations Act that played out in negotiations that stretched out for three years. It did produce two recommendations from federal panels of experts that called for raises for LIRR workers of between 4.5 percent and 5 percent that the MTA ignored setting the stage for the strike, the first since 1994.
"According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index, released on May 1 for the 25 counties in the region that includes Long Island, prices last month rose over 4 percent compared to March 2025," according to a union press release.
Louis was joined by Chris Silvera, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 808, which represents Metro-North track workers.
Both Louis expressed disappointment with Gov. Kathleen Hochul for appearing to align herself with management.
“Commuters are dealing with unnecessary dysfunction and thousands of union LIRR workers are being forced to go without a paycheck because of decisions made by a small group of union leaders," Hochul said in a statement. "I stand with LIRR riders and will fight to preserve the long term stability of the MTA. I believe a deal can be done and I urge both the MTA and these unions to return to the table and bargain non-stop until a deal is reached.”
Our current events panel with Larry Hamm, founder of New Jersey's People's Organization for Progress and Dr. Joe Wilson, labor consultant and historian, weigh in on the LIRR strike. Hamm and Wilson also discuss the growing protest movement in the south to states who are racing to use the recent SCOTUS decision that demolished the Voting Rights Act to eliminate Black representation ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Our St. John University professors are back. Professors Chris Denny and Sophie Bell update us on their fight to retain their union that's been around since the 1970s and has become a vital part of the university's culture that's embraced generations of immigrant New Yorkers.
We finished up with a conversation with Ali Alijarrah, who is running as a candidate for Passaic County Commissioner in the June primary who was recently endorsed by Senator Bernie Sanders (VT-I)
Alijarrah is a civil rights activist and policy advocate who has focused on working-class issues. He serves as a senior advisor at CAIR Action NJ where he's worked on First Amendment issues, immigrant rights and legislation to make polluters pay for the damage they've done to the environment.
He discussed the crisis of affordability in Passaic County where according to the United Way, 49 percent of the population live below poverty or struggle month to month to get by. In Paterson, well over two thirds of the population struggle economically.
