I want to give Long Island Rail Road riders the latest updates on the strike. Let me be clear, I did not want a strike. The MTA did not want a strike. The MTA has put fair offers on the table, in fact, many of them. And so despite that, for the first time in 30 years, the hundreds of thousands of people who rely on the LIRR are without service because of a strike. We all know that the railroad is the lifeblood of Long Island. Without it, life as we know it is simply not possible. The bottom line is: No one wins in a strike. Everyone is hurt — the hundreds of thousands of people who rely on the railroad, and the thousands of unionized workers who are losing out on wages.
I want to speak directly to the men and women of labor at the LIRR: The work you do is absolutely vital. Absolutely. I value your labor, and I believe that you deserve fair wages and benefits. But this strike has put all that at risk. Just three days of a strike would erase every dollar of additional salary that workers would receive under a new contract. We don't need to be here. Workers deserve better, but also New Yorkers deserve better. That's why today I'm urging all parties once again to bargain at the table, and to get a deal done.
I also want to give an update to the Long Island Rail Road riders who are wondering about work tomorrow. Now, I've been in close communication, I've been touring the sites. I'm here at the Operations Control Center to talk to the individuals overseeing the lines that we anticipate the highest volume on tomorrow — you'll hear more about that from our MTA leadership team — and we have a plan to ensure that essential workers can get into the city during the workday commute. Now, starting at 4:00 a.m. tomorrow, the MTA will deploy shuttle buses to bring essential workers from across Long Island to subway stations in Queens, and those shuttle buses will be standing by to bring those essential workers back home to Long Island at the end of the day, to Long Island and Queens. For those in Nassau County who absolutely cannot work from home, there continues to be the option of taking a Nassau Inter-County Express bus directly to the subway connections in Queens. They'll run extra bus service weekdays during the strike, and we've encouraged the county to add additional capacity.
Another option is Citi Field. With the Mets hitting the road tomorrow, you can park there and transfer to the 7 train. So right here, as I said, in the nerve center of the subway, every day four million New Yorkers rely on this system to get around. This subway system is absolutely vital, even more so tomorrow. And the MTA, as I've listened and asked questions, they're ready to meet the challenge. Extra trains are on standby, and the MTA stands ready to run additional New York City subway service to meet the demand. And for the residents of Eastern Queens, who typically rely on the speed and convenience of the LIRR, the E and A trains are there for you as a great option to get to and from the city at this time.
But let's face the facts. It's impossible to fully replace LIRR service. So effective Monday, I'm asking that regular commuters who can work from home should. Please do so. And employers should make every accommodation necessary to allow for remote work. Now, I've already directed all state agencies affected to implement telecommuting plans for the state employees who typically commute in from Long Island. But also, we have to maintain essential government services. Now, everyone knows these alternatives are not business as usual. But unfortunately, they're the direct result of this strike.
Let me be clear: This strike would not have been possible if the Trump Administration had not taken the highly unusual step last fall of releasing labor unions from mediation. Unfortunately for our commuters, the direct consequence of this action is the strike we have today. Now, New York, everyone knows, is a pro-labor state. We believe in working men and women receiving a fair wage and benefits. But the MTA cannot agree to a contract that would raise fares as much as eight percent and risk hiking taxes for Long Islanders. I have worked too long and hard to reduce costs for our residents, and I will not allow that to be undone. As Governor, my priority is to fight for affordability for all New Yorkers, and this strike puts that affordability at risk.
Long Islanders deserve a break, as do all the residents who commute on our lines from Queens and elsewhere. They face tariff prices, price hikes on everything from food to school supplies, and skyrocketing gas prices after Trump's war in Iran. I will not let this dispute lead to higher prices and less money in the pockets of our residents. So we're looking at ways to defray the costs caused by this strike, costs that fly in the face of affordability, and I'll have more to say about that in the coming days if necessary. Now, remember this — not long ago when I became Governor, the MTA was barreling off a fiscal cliff. Rider post-pandemic was down, and there were calls to reduce service and slash costs. I took a different approach. I said, "Let's invest more. Let's create more reliability. Let's have a higher level of service." And those results have borne out. We've invested billions of dollars, and I need those investments to hold and not be diminished. And as a result, ridership has surged back, nearly all the way back to the pre-pandemic levels, which is an extraordinary result, and I want to thank all the workers across the lines and at the MTA who've been responsible for that success.
Like I said, I put the MTA on stable financial grounds. I worked hard to do that, and I don't want that undone. I will not let that be undone. But I believe, I know a deal can be reached to end this strike and end it soon. But to reach the deal, as I've said before, the MTA needs a partner. The MTA has made multiple generous offers with real wage increases. I urge both sides to come together as soon as possible and resolve this to avoid a prolonged strike that'll disrupt the lives of hardworking New Yorkers and affect the pocketbooks of the union members that their leaders are representing. So getting everyone back to the table is the surest way to resolve this strike, also achieving all of our goals, and getting the trains running once again. Thank you.
