Contract talks between Long Island Rail Road workers and the MTA collapsed after just 45 minutes Monday — bringing nearly 300,000 daily riders that much closer to a potentially chaotic strike this weekend.
The unions’ chief negotiator admitted that both sides were at a “complete impasse,” while the MTA’s president sniffed, “Until they’re ready to move, there’s no reason to have negotiations.’’
A strike deadline is set for 12:01 a.m. Sunday — but union leaders warned they expect to start “the winding down of service’’ as early as Wednesday.
“The MTA is causing this,” said Anthony Simon, the disgruntled union honcho of SMART, the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers group. “There’s no way, shape or form that they want to do this.’’
One major stumbling block appears to be over the treatment of new hires in the eight unions, which currently represent more than 5,000 workers. The MTA wants them to contribute more toward health care and their pensions, with the unions crying foul.
“We’ve moved three times,” MTA Chairman Thomas Prendergast told reporters after Monday’s failed talks. “In the spirit of negotiations, it’s give and take. We’ve done giving. They’ve done taking. But they haven’t moved at all . . . from their positions.”
He insisted that if the agency were to capitulate to the unions’ demands, such a contract would likely ensure increased fares and delay future capital projects.
But Simon said the MTA continues to “insist the unions agree to a contract worth less than the value of the compromise recommendations of two Presidential Emergency Boards,” which weighed in on the dispute.
“The MTA has failed miserably in proving to anyone that their finances are in a place where they cannot afford this contract and prevent a strike,” he added.
The unions have been working without a contract since 2010.
Gov. Cuomo has said he would not intervene in the contract fight. Meanwhile, Mayor de Blasio, who goes on vacation to Italy on Friday, said Monday that he was still optimistic that a strike could be averted — and that sufficient plans were under way in a worst-case scenario.
The MTA’s contingency plan for a strike includes shuttling commuters on school buses from certain LIRR stations to city subway stops. The agency also said it would free up several large park-and-ride lots for LIRR commuters.