LIRR strike has many worrying about Monday’s commute. Here’s the latest.

Long Island Rail Road workers were back on picket lines at various locations across New York City and Long Island on Sunday, voicing their concerns and demands. the strike continues for a second day.

While the work stoppage caused disorder for people going to events on weekendsthe real problem is the Monday morning commute. The LIRR is the busiest commuter rail system in North America, with approximately 250,000 riders on weekdays. The strike is expected to force many people to find alternative routes to the city from suburban Long Island.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority says it has activated its emergency planwhich includes metro stations recommended as drop-off points for passengers entering the city. However, if you don’t have transportation, limited free shuttles will be available from several Long Island stations to Queens subway connections starting at 4:30 a.m.

Bay Shore, Hicksville, Mineola and Lakeview will go to Howard Beach-JFK Airport, while Ronkonkoma and Huntington will go to Jamaica-179th Street.

The MTA has announced plans to issue prorated refunds to monthly ticket holders.

Union and MTA trade barbs

For months, railroad unions and the MTA have been negotiating a new contract, but negotiations have repeatedly stalled over worker wages and health care bonuses.

In the absence of an agreement, workers went on strike shortly after midnight on Saturday and no further negotiations are currently planned.

“The MTA never really came to the table to negotiate until we had to call them into their last board meeting,” said Karl Bischoff, president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. “This has no sense or urgency, as has been stated previously. It just seems like the MTA board is never held accountable. My members are always held accountable for their actions.”

Janno Lieber, MTA President and CEO posted a response on CBS News New York on Sunday morning.

“To be absolutely clear, we never stopped negotiations. The union chose to stop negotiations and go on strike to inconvenience everyone. That was their choice,” Lieber said. “We have been available every minute of every day, if they are serious about ending this. They are by far the highest paid workers in the entire nation’s rail system, and they want a better deal than every other MTA worker. It’s not fair.

“These guys seem to think they’re special, they’re better than everyone else, and we’re not going to blow the MTA budget and put more burdens on taxpayers and riders because they think they’re special,” Lieber added.

When asked how long the MTA could sustain such a standoff financially, Lieber responded: “Look, the MTA is a big organization and if we don’t have ridership, obviously it hits the bottom line. It’s no secret that the fares don’t cover the full amount, so it’s not a financial crisis right now for the MTA.

Governor Hochul and Blakeman go on strike

Gov. Kathy Hochul and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, her opponent in the upcoming November election, each spoke on the strike Sunday morning.

Flanked by Lieber and other MTA officials, Hochul praised LIRR workers and said they deserved fair wages and benefits, but added, “The strike has put all of that at risk.” Just three days of strike action would wipe out every dollar of extra pay workers would receive under a new contract.

“We don’t need to be here. Workers deserve better, but New Yorkers deserve better too. That’s why today I once again urge all parties to negotiate around the table and reach a deal,” Hochul said.

The governor too provided more details on the MTA’s emergency plan and urged all non-essential workers to work from home on Monday if they can.

Speaking at the Long Beach train station, Blakeman again blamed Hochul for the strike, calling it a “failure of leadership.”

He also praised unions and called for congestion pricing, the controversial Manhattan toll programmust be suspended at least for the duration of the strike, if not completely after the end of the work stoppage.

“We shouldn’t have to fund our state government with a toll on a road that we’ve already paid for with our tax dollars,” Blakeman said.

Blakeman then took aim at Lieber, saying he was mismanaging the MTA and a change in leadership was needed.

“I hope they can understand that.”

Although the expected chaos on Monday looms, many weekend travelers are feeling confused and frustrated.

At Jamaica Station, normally a main city transit hub for LIRR riders and meant to be a primary picket location for workers, many commuters arrived Sunday morning unaware that trains were not running.

Although the MTA has these contingency plans, shuttle service doesn’t start until Monday.

So weekend events like the Subway Series between the Yankees and Mets at Citi Field, Bruce Springsteen’s Saturday night concert at Madison Square Garden, and the Brooklyn Half Marathon, not to mention graduations and other events across the city, have been a real struggle for Long Islanders who would normally commute on the LIRR without issue.

“It would have taken 15 minutes on the train. Instead, it took about an hour and a half to get here,” Alex Lupo said at Citi Field Saturday night.

“It’s pretty annoying. I hope they can figure this out. It’s a really bad time for this to happen during the Subway Series,” Ryan Mattel added.

And with another Yankees-Mets game at 1:40 p.m., the same travel scenario is likely to play out. In other cases, some ticket holders for other concerts and Broadway shows had no choice but to forfeit their tickets due to the strike.