Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement commending the re-opening of negotiations between the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and representatives of the 6,000 union members who have been working on the Long Island Rail Road without a contract since June 2010.

Congresswoman Clarke, with several of her colleagues in the New York State Congressional Delegation, last week sent a letter to MTA Chairman Thomas Prendergast asking the MTA to continue negotiations to avoid disruptions in service. A wage increase has been recommended by a panel of mediators appointed by President Obama to resolve the dispute between the unions and the MTA.

“It is my hope that these negotiations will finally allow the dedicated men and women who work on the Long Island Rail Road to obtain a fair contact,” said Congresswoman Clarke, who represents Ninth Congressional District of New York, near to the Long Island Rail Road stations at Atlantic Terminal, Nostrand Avenue, and East New York. “The potential disruption of service for the 335,000 who ride on the Long Island Rail Road each day requires serious collaboration between the unions and the MTA.”

U.S. Representative Yvette D. Clarke is a member of the House Committee on Small Business, Ethics, and Homeland Security, where she is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies. She represents many neighborhoods in central and southern Brooklyn, NY which include Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Gerritsen Beach, Madison, Midwood, parts of Park Slope and Flatlands, Prospect Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Sheepshead Bay, and Windsor Terrace.