Hochul Blames Trump for the Pending Rail Strike

With New York on the verge of a costly strike by employees of the Long Island Rail Road, Governor Kathy Hochul is trying to saddle the White House with the blame. The labor strife, Mrs. Hochul avers, “has been needlessly encouraged and accelerated by President Trump.” This attempt at deflection aims to distract New Yorkers from the governor’s own responsibility for the railroad, which is under the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority.We can’t gainsay Mrs. Hochul’s assertion that “nobody wins in a strike,” which she says “would hurt both LIRR commuters” and employees “who rely on paychecks to support their families.” As a candidate for reelection, too, it’s little wonder that she professes to refuse “to ask Long Islanders to pay unnecessary fare hikes or higher taxes.” Yet she seems resigned to a strike, lamenting that “we have to be ready for whatever happens.”Where, though, has Mrs. Hochul been during nearly five years as governor, when it comes to overdue reforms in the LIRR’s workforce? The railroad’s powerful labor unions appear to have been given more or less free rein, leading to what the MTA’s own management concedes are “the most costly and inefficient work rules in the entire railroad industry.” Riders pay the price for these lax policies in the form of higher fares and worse service.Feature, say, how LIRR engineers, per the nonpartisan Empire Center, “are entitled to an extra day’s pay if they operate electric and diesel trains on the same shift.” The engineers are paid some 7 percent above the national norm, the center reports, and paid, on average, some $160,000 a year. The center’s chief, Zilvinas Silenas, tells us of concerns, too, of “outright fraud, like running a fake ID ring” to “scam overtime payments and take home $300,000 in pay.”Strong leadership at the MTA — which is under the governor’s control — could help drive down these costs, but it would require taking on the labor unions who seem to operate hand-in-glove with New York Democrats when it comes to fleecing the taxpayers. Instead, Mrs. Hochul now seems to be throwing up her hands at the prospect of a strike. The state comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli, warns it could cost the economy up to $61 million a day.Some 250,000 riders rely on the railroad. The strike “will be felt far beyond the tracks,” Mr. Di Napoli cautions, “triggering the loss of millions of dollars per day in lost economic activity, disrupting thousands of riders and throwing the region’s transit service into chaos and gridlock.” More’s the reason, then, to avert a strike without caving to the demands of the LIRR’s labor unions. That puts the ball in Mrs. Hochul’s court — not Mr. Trump’s.Mrs. Hochul could well look to the example of Governor Calvin Coolidge of Massachusetts. In 1919, Boston’s policemen struck for higher wages. Riots ensued. The mayor dithered, but Coolidge, a future president, restored order, then trained replacements, and barred the strikers from being rehired. Some of Silent Cal’s gumption is needed at Albany. Quoth Coolidge: “There is no right to strike against the public safety by anybody, anywhere, any time.”

Hochul Blames Trump for the Pending Rail Strike

Hochul Blames Trump for the Pending Rail Strike

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