(LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK) - After hours of last-minute negotiations, no agreement on wage increases was reached between a coalition of five unions and the Long Island Railroad (LIRR).

The coalition of Unions has gone more than three years without raises throughout the process of bargaining for a new contract.

This is the first Strike at the carrier in 32 years.

In accordance with the terms of the Railway Labor Act, the Coalition’s 3,500 Members then went on Strike just after midnight today (Saturday, May 16th).

The LIRR is the Nation’s busiest Commuter Railroad with 300,000 daily passengers.

The LIRR is owned and operated by the Metropolitan Transit Agency (MTA).

The Labor Coalition includes 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).

As part of the negotiating process, both parties argued their case before two Federally-appointed Presidential Emergency Boards (PEB).

Both Boards sided with the Labor Coalition as having the most reasonable contract offer.

BLET and the Teamsters Rail Conference President Mark Wallace said: “This Strike would not have happened if the MTA and LIRR offered our Members the reasonable terms the Government recommended multiple times. But management refused. We hope (the) LIRR gets serious soon to avoid further unnecessary disruptions for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers. They know where to find us when they’re ready: On the streets.”

Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said: “The LIRR owns this Strike. Union Workers have sacrificed so much for the railroad for years while consistently bargaining in good faith for a fair contract. Hundreds of thousands of commuters rely on our Members’ labor every day. The LIRR is stranding passengers while denying wages, benefits and respect to BLET Teamsters and other hard-working Union Members. All (1.3 million) Members of the Teamsters Union are standing with every Worker on Strike. We will win this fight and the LIRR will give these essential Workers the contract they’ve earned.”

For More On This Labor News Report, Go To: BLET members on strike at Long Island Railroad - Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen And New York commuter rail system ceases operations as workers strike | AP News