In today’s news and commentary, workers at the Long Island Rail Road threaten to strike, and referees at the National Football League reach a collective bargaining agreement.

Workers at the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) are threatening their first strike in 32 years as contract negotiations between the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and multiple unions continue. Wage increases are the key issue of disagreement in bargaining; while the LIRR Bargaining Coalition and the MTA have agreed on retroactive wage increases covering the past three years, the parties disagree over additional wage increases for this year. While the Bargaining Coalition, representing five unions including the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, is asking for a 5% wage increase, the MTA has only agreed to 3%. If the parties do not reach an agreement by May 16th, the union’s roughly 3,000 workers intend to strike. If the strike occurs, the MTA announced that it will run a limited number of shuttle buses and encourage people to work from home.

Earlier this week, referees at the National Football League (NFL) reached a seven-year collective bargaining agreement with the league. The agreement will replace the existing CBA between the NFL and the NFL Referees Association (NFLRA), set to expire on May 31st. The referees ratified the agreement on Thursday. The successful negotiations mean that referees will not go on strike during the 2026-2027 NFL season. The NFL had already begun preparations for replacement referees sourced from university football; the last time the league used replacement referees was in 2012. In that season, an incorrect call by replacement referees changed the outcome of a Seahawks-Packers game and prompted the NFL to end its lockout of referees two days later.