Hundreds of picketing LIRR workers strike it rich with $100K-plus overtime hauls: ‘System is so distorted’
Nearly a dozen Long Island Rail Road workers are hauling in more than $200,000 a year in overtime alone — a mind-boggling figure that rivals Gov. Kathy Hochul’s entire salary.
The transit arm’s latest payroll records reveal that a slew of its unionized workers — whose strike is wreaking havoc on the metro area’s hard-working masses — are personally striking gold at the taxpayers’ expense.
More than 325 Long Island Rail Road workers are raking in over $100,000 a year in overtime on top of their lucrative salaries, with 11 of them netting at least twice that huge figure in OT.
Overtime costs account for a staggering 22% of the LIRR’s payroll, noted Ken Girardin, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute think tank.
“Gov. Kathy Hochul needs to use the bully pulpit and explain why the LIRR shouldn’t cave,’’ Girardin told The Post on Sunday, referring to the MTA’s contentious contract talks with five LIRR unions repping thousands of workers.
“She can start by talking about how, thanks to inefficient union contracts, the LIRR had 11 employees last year collect over $200,000 each in overtime,” Girardin said.
“The LIRR workers are already the best-compensated transit workers in the United States,” he said.
Among the commuter railroad’s top OT kings are:
- ”Gang’’ or supervising foreman Leonardo Espinosa, who earned an eye-popping $244,954 in OT last year on top of his $129,483 salary, bringing his total earnings to $396,749.
By comparison, Hochul makes $250,000 annually as governor of the state of New York, a post that also makes her the de facto boss of the LIRR.
- Gang foreman Jeffrey Davies, who hauled in $233,808 in OT on top of his base salary of $130,291, for a total of 384,859.
- Gang foreman Steve Delacrausaz, who raked in $233,195 in overtime, to net a total salary of $388,151 when combining his base pay of $133,924.
- Foreman Brian Turner, who netted $229,426 in OT on top of a base salary of $131,176, earning a total of $378,926.
- Gang foreman Larry Young, racking up $227,999 in OT added to a base salary of $130,428 for a total of $378,869.
- Utility worker Salvatore Lazzarino, with $222,185 in OT plus his $100,306 base salary for a total of $326,480.
- Gang foreman Jose Rodriguez, who took in $207,847 in OT in addition to his $130,415.56 salary, handing him a total of $349,198.01.
- Yardmaster Peter Zoufaly, who earned $206,954.32 in OT plus his base salary of $128,529.24 for a total of $336,010.
- Gang foreman Dwayne Freemantle, who grabbed $204,606 in OT on top of a base salary of $130,033 for a total of $349,278.
- Surfacing foreman Dallas Bazemore, who raked in $202,890 in OT plus his regular pay of $131,163 for a total of $337,280.11.
- Track foreman Lee Levine, who accumulated $200,619.12 in OT on top of his $127,567.46 salary for a total of $329,335.
In 2021, The Post wrote a series of stories about OT fraud at the LIRR, which resulted in federal indictments and “OT King” Thomas Caputo getting sentenced to eight months in prison after copping to fraud theft that netted him thousands of dollars.
The Empire Center for Public Policy for years has highlighted massive OT at the MTA’s agencies, which also include NYC Transit subways and buses, Metro-North and Bridges and Tunnels.
“The LIRR fraud problem has taken many forms over the years,’’ Girardin said.
“The system is so distorted that it’s hard to tell what is legal waste and illegal waste.’’
The union is reportedly demanding a retroactive increase totaling 9.5% for the past three years and a 5% boost this year.
But management is said to only be agreeing to a 3% raise this year on top of a one-time lump-sum payment that would raise the total to 4.5%.
MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan said in a statement to The Post on Sunday, “We’re outraged by these [OT] numbers.
“That’s why we are fighting hard to put work rules changes on the table, but so far the unions have adamantly refused to consider any changes.’’
Hochul’s office declined to comment on the OT issue Sunday — well into the second straight day of the shutdown for the crucial LIRR commuter service.
Kyle Strober, executive director of the Association for a Better Long Island, cautioned that “the key here is not to make a deal just to please the unions and get the trains running if it’s not sustainable.”
Any pact has to be “sustainable in the long run,” the advocate said.
Strober said there are three pressure points that can impact the regional economy if the LIRR labor deal gets too expense: fare hikes, an increase in the payroll tax or a higher congestion toll.
“It will make the region less affordable and drive more people out of New York,” he said.
An MTA source noted that the LIRR is the most heavily subsidized operation at the agency.
It gets more of its operating budget from subsidies and taxes than the city subway, buses or Metro-North, the source said.
That’s at least partly because the current work rules — which don’t exist anywhere besides the LIRR — require the MTA to spend this much on overtime, the source said.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman has called for suspending the $9 congestion pricing toll for motorists crossing into core Manhattan during the strike.
Hochul retorted that there is “actually no legal mechanism to do that.’’
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