President Donald Trump on Saturday hit out at New York Governor Kathy Hochul over the Long Island Railroad (LIRR) strike that commenced after midnight on Saturday due to unions and state negotiators failing to reach a new deal.
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While the LIRR is run through the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), the organization responsible for managing New York City’s travel system, the MTA itself is run by the state. The LIRR serves nearly 300,000 passengers daily, and the strikes occur ahead of both Memorial Day weekend and the World Cup, which is set to start in early June.
In her statement posted on Saturday, Hochul wrote the strike was a “direct result of reckless actions by the Trump Administration to cut mediation short and push these negotiations toward a strike.”
Trump responded on Truth Social, instead claiming that he had “NOTHING TO DO WITH IT” and had not heard about the strike “until this morning.”
“No, Kathy, it’s your fault, and now looking over the facts, you should not have allowed this to happen. If you can’t solve it, let me know, and I’ll show you how to properly get things done,” the president wrote.
Trump used the moment to stump for his preferred candidate, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who will face off with Hochul this year in the gubernatorial election.
“He should be your next Governor and New York State would turn around fast, including far less Crime, and much lower taxes!!! Kathy, call me if you can’t do it, I will get it done – I know all the players, great people!!!” Trump added.
Newsweek reached out to the U.S. Department of Transportation by email on Saturday for comment.
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Timeline of New York Train Strike Negotiations
Contract negotiations escalated in August 2025 when federal mediators released the rail operator and a coalition of five unions from talks, triggering a mandatory 30‑day “cooling‑off” period and setting a legal deadline for strike action in mid‑September if no agreement was reached, according to Railway Age.
The dispute centered on wage increases and contract terms, with union leaders arguing pay had not kept pace with rising costs while transit officials maintained their offer was in line with other agreements.
By early September, officials warned that a strike could begin as soon as September 18, and contingency plans were rolled out for commuters while negotiations showed little progress. The Ryder Cup, seen as a major boon for the area and held out on Long Island, was imperiled by the possibility of a strike.
As the deadline approached, unions authorized a walkout and initially planned to strike that week, but at the last moment requested federal intervention, delaying the action and extending negotiations into a prolonged mediation process.
The intervention postponed an immediate shutdown and kept trains running for months while both sides continued bargaining under federal oversight, though the core disagreements over wages remained unresolved.
The labor union then intended to go on strike earlier this year, but the Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) in March sided with the labor unions, recommending raises and retroactive pay for railroad workers, along with rejecting MTA language to implement “sweeping changes” to contract language.
Instead, the PEB mediator recommended a 60-day cooling-off period for negotiations, which would ultimately lead to a strike on May 16 if no deal was reached.
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