By the time LIRR workers are allowed to go on strike, it will be beach weather outside.
The railroad’s largest union voted 500-to-0 to walk off the job at 12:01 a.m. on March 21 — but President Obama has the power to delay their action until mid-July.
The MTA, which operates the LIRR, can ask Obama for a Presidential Emergency Board to weigh the contract issues and put the March strike on hold.
The board would issue a report by May 19. But if either side rejects the findings, it would trigger a 60-day cooling-off period — and no strike could begin until July 19.
Obama authorized an emergency board in November, and it recommended 2.85 percent-a-year wage hike for six years. But the MTA is seeking a three-year freeze in labor costs to avoid a large hike in fares.
A strike would trigger a commuting nightmare like the two-day LIRR job action in 1994 — when the MTA chartered hundreds of buses to get Long Islanders to the city.
Drivers encountered bumper-to-bumper gridlock. Another strike lasted 11 days in 1987 and proved even worse.
The MTA hasn’t said yet what strike preparations it is taking or whether it would seek Obama’s help.