It's the Brian Laris show on WNYC Good Monday morning, everyone.

Let's talk about this Long Island Railroad strike, making it not a good Monday morning

for a lot of people.

We're told that negotiations

have resumed this morning just a little while ago, so we'll take a closer look than you

might get in the headlines about what the issues are. Also, it's some of the underlying

structural things. Have you wondered about these? Like, why does the LIRR have five separate unions?

Why is just this branch of the MTA on strike? That is, do Metro

North or New York City bus and subway workers all have different pay and work rules? They're all

MTA employees. The MTA runs all of those. And here's one way the Long Island Railroad

strike is becoming an election year issue. Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakman,

who was also the Nassau County executive, so this is local to him, is calling on Governor

Hockel to suspend the congestion pricing toll to drive into Midtown while the strike is going on

for little relief, he says, for the people who do generally choose public transportation, but don't

have that option during the strike. The governor says that's beyond her powers under the law.

Our transportation editor, Clayton Goosa, is with us, and we'll check in with transportation

reporter Stephen Essen, who is at one usually very busy Long Island Railroad Hub, which is

busy in a different way this morning.

Hey, Clayton, I know you're covering this around the clock right now, so thanks for giving us

some time on the show. Hey, hey, Brian. How you doing? And listeners, we can take some different

threads of calls or texts from you. First of all, any striking workers listening right now,

want to call in and explain to the public why you

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