Strike on the Long Island

The nation's busiest commuter railroad was closed down this week by a strike aimed at setting a precedent for U.S. railroads. After last-minute negotiations collapsed, 1,350 members of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen walked off the Long Island Railroad, which carries 175,000 riders daily in and out of New York City. The trainmen are striking for a five-day week but want to continue receiving the seven days' pay they now get for working six. No major U.S. railroad has a five-day week for employees who man the trains, and a settlement on union terms could be used as a lever to get a five-day week on other railroads.

The Long Island offered its trainmen the five-day week, but tied in the offer with economies that would pare the cost from $350,000 to $200,000 a year. Without these, the Long Island said, it would have to raise fares more than the 4-c--a-ride hike planned to cover recent pay increases. Under the road's plan, the union would have had to accept a cut in the Long Island's basic hourly pay rate, which is 3-c- to 7-c- higher than on most U.S. railroads, to bring it in line with other roads. The union rejected both the offer and the company's version of the facts. A five-day week, said the Brotherhood, would involve hiring only 28 extra men instead of the 130 the railroad talked about.

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