Eight separate unions representing Amtrak workers are threatening to go on strike as early as January 30th if they are not presented with new contracts, which they've worked without for years. A strike would hurt more than people taking the Acela between Washington D.C. and Boston. If Amtrak workers strike, it would close Penn Station and hundreds off thousands of daily commuters on the Long Island Rail Road, NJ Transit, and Amtrak would be seriously inconvenienced.
NJ Transit riders would probably be forced to disembark at Hoboken and crowd onto the already packed PATH system into Manhattan. LIRR commuters would be let off at Brooklyn, Jamaica Station, and Woodside, where they could take the subway into Manhattan. The prospect of an additional few hundred thousand commuters to these subway stops portends frustration, crowding, and delays. The New York Post quotes the chairman of the LIRR Commuters Council:
"It is going to be worse than a nightmare - it will be a complete horror show. There will be no relief," LIRR Commuters Council chairman Gerry Bringmann said.
"We're looking at more than an hour added to each commute, and then people will be packed like sardines on ice-cold platforms. It's going to put a massive strain on the alternative lines.
"It's insane."
Bringmann said that sources close to the negotiations have told him that a strike is very likely. The Post talked to some LIRR riders who said that they would either drive into the city or just not bother coming into Manhattan at all. The Amtrak workers are seeking a one-third increase in pay and back wages. It's been seven years since the unions have renegotiated their contracts.
