The Long Island Rail Road strike seemed to come and go in the blink of an eye- full service resumed after only two morning commutes to work were crippled- but the effects could be felt for a lot longer. Terms of the deal are now starting to leak out to the public, which was forced to carry the brunt of the service disruptions caused by the strike, as well as pay the costs that will likely arise from the deal. Governor Kathy Hochul, however, will now have to convince the public that the deal was the best one possible and will not lead to higher train fares. Former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino understands the complex dance between government and public sector unions as a politician and as a transit rider; he appeared on 710 WOR’s Curtis Sliwa and Larry Mendte in the Morning program to offer his take on what the deal means for train riders.
Astorino drew on personal experience, as the LIRR negotiated with then-Governor Andrew Cuomo for a new deal before Astorino and Cuomo went head-to-head in the general election: “This is the same thing that happened in ’14, when I ran, Cuomo was holding out a little bit, and they were really giving him the business in some ads and some p.r., and then all of a sudden he just folded so fast, and they knew that and so they got everything they wanted and more. It’s the little things that don’t get the big headlines, like work rules and all those little things that have accumulated over the years that have made the MTA and these kinds of agencies collapse on [their] own weight, which is the same thing with the LIRR. We’re a unionized state, Democrats control it, Democrats are running, Democrats need the unions, taxpayers will always- or commuters, in this case- be screwed.”
Astorino also weighed in on politics nationally, particularly in Texas, where President Trump backed state attorney general Ken Paxton over incumbent John Cornyn in the May 26th runoff for the general election for U.S. Senator: “I think Paxton’s gonna win it, [but] Cornyn’s very conservative, too, you know, and he would probably be a better general election candidate. Here’s the thing- Trump should have done this four months ago… and they would have saved about $150 million instead of beating the hell out of each other… I mean, it’s tough to go against an incumbent from your own party when you need him.”
Photo Credit: Getty Images