NY gubernatorial candidate calls out Hochul for LIRR strike fallout
New York gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman criticizes Gov. Kathy Hochul to lead the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) strike, accusing him of poor leadership. Blakeman points to the state’s financial problems and the $60 million daily cost of the strike, which affects hundreds of thousands of commuters.
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The five unions that participated in the Long Island Rail Road strike earlier this week reported spending more than $3.2 million by 2025 on hotels, resorts, restaurants and event spaces, according to Labor Department disclosures reviewed by Fox News Digital.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Transportation Communications Union have raised more than $3.2 million in advanced settlements by 2025, according to unions reviewed by Fox News Digital.
Unions often cut checks from luxury hotels to cover the costs of hosting events, such as training or conferences. They also use luxury accommodation and meals at work when they travel around the country on union-related business.
The revelations provide a window into how unions spent money on travel, conferences and event venues in the same year that workers said they were cut from rising costs. The strike disrupted hundreds of thousands of daily commuters and cost the region an estimated $61 million a day.
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A conductor stands on a train of the Long Island Railroad (LIRR), the world’s largest rail system, ahead of a possible strike by rail workers at Penn Station, New York City, US, May 15, 2026. (REUTERS/David Dee Delgado)
LM-2 forms are annual financial disclosure reports that labor unions file with the Department of Labor, detailing receipts, disbursements, officer payments and other expenditures. Fox News Digital reviewed the 2025 LM-2 forms filed with the Department of Labor by the five unions involved in the LIRR strike, which identify payments to premium hotels, resorts, casinos and restaurants where menu prices are above the normal cost of meals.
Reported fees include Las Vegas casino hotels, high-end restaurants, beach resorts and golf-related properties.
Union-backed rail workers went on strike on May 16, saying pay increases had not kept pace with rising living costs, shutting down the nation’s largest railroad. The unions have since reached an agreement with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which owns the LIRR, although the details have not been disclosed.
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Long Island Rail Road workers walk a picket line outside Penn Station in New York on the third day of their strike, Monday, May 18, 2026. (Heather Khalifa/AP)
Negotiations between the unions and the MTA have been ongoing since 2023. While negotiating with the MTA on the grounds that their workers are underpaid, the unions reported huge payouts to hotels, resorts, casinos and restaurants.
BLET and IAM together are spending nearly half a million dollars on Caesars Palace in Las Vegas by 2025, according to the disclosure. The amount spent includes accommodation and event expenses. TCU, meanwhile, spent $856,403 on the Caesars Hotel in Reno, Nevada, which also offers gambling. These fees cover costs associated with hosting events at venues.
LAS VEGAS VISITORS SHOCKED BY ‘INSANE’ COSTS, FROM $14 COFFEES TO $95 ATM CHARGES
Long Island Rail Road employee Sujit Saha helps a passenger find his train at Penn Station in New York on May 19, 2026. (Richard Drew/AP)
Caesars Palace is one of the famous hotels and casinos in Las Vegas.
Its indoor casino has 185 table games, more than 1,300 slot machines and sports betting. Guests at the palace have access to bars, on-site spa service, private hair salon, limo service, night club, in-room massage service and sauna.
When I was in Las Vegas, the unions used big tabs at the top restaurants.
Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen hold signs during a strike outside NJ Transit headquarters in Newark, New Jersey, May 16, 2025. About 450 union members walked off the job after the collapse of pay negotiations with NJ Transit, disrupting the commute of about 350,000 people in New York City and New York. (Photo by Kena Betancur/Getty Images)
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IAM, for example, spent $6,806 at Strip House, where the cheapest steak on the menu, an 8-ounce filet, costs $67 and the most expensive, a porterhouse, costs $155.
TCU, meanwhile, spent more than $20,000 at the Peter Luger Steak House, where steaks range from $90 to $320, and they famously have about $1 million worth of dry-aged beef at all times.
Waterfront resorts also appeared in the 2025 reveal.
BLET spent $107,375 at the Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort, IBEW paid nearly $130,000 at TradeWinds Island Resort in Florida, and an additional $130,000 in expenses for the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, a popular vacation spot.
Other major labor organizations reported similar payments to hotels, resorts, restaurants and event venues in the organization’s job disclosures. Major labor organizations such as the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, the International Longshoremen’s Association and the Service Employees International Union all reported similar costs.
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“To all LIRR riders whose journeys have been disrupted, know that the MTA has left us with no option to strike,” said Gil Lang, General Chair of the LIRR’s BLET General Committee, speaking about the strike. “We don’t want to be in the headlines. But after three years without a raise, we can no longer make a deal to deal with the mismanagement of the MTA.”
The LIRR strike, which began May 16 and ended at noon Tuesday, was expected to cost New York state about $61 million a day and disrupt the travel plans of about 270,000 people each day. Dozens of New Yorkers told the media that they had to wake up early and begin hours-long commutes to get to work without train service.
Although an agreement has been reached to end the strike involving five unions, the details of this agreement have not been made public as labor representatives still need to formally ratify the contract.
The five unions involved in the strike did not respond when contacted by Fox News Digital on Tuesday.
