Big Beautiful Bill Act railroads LIRR workers on overtime taxes

Daily Point

NYC Transit workers to benefit from 'no tax on OT' as LIRR union pushes for amendment

President Donald Trump says the One Big Beautiful Bill Act fulfills his promise to end the tax on overtime.

Not if you are a Long Island Rail Road worker.

The bill specifically excludes certain categories of employees, including those who are covered by the federal Railway Labor Act, such as LIRR and Metro-North Railroad employees. That is a legacy distinction from the time those two systems were privately owned and operated. However, New York City Transit workers, the other part of the MTA trinity, will benefit from "no tax on overtime," since they aren’t covered by the Railway Labor Act.

The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air Rail and Transportation Workers, which is known as the SMART Transportation Division and represents the largest number of LIRR employees, attempted to attach an amendment to the legislation, sponsored by Washington Democrat Sen. Maria Cantwell, before it passed the Senate that would have given rail and aviation workers the tax break.

But it wasn’t ever brought to the floor.

SMART general chairman Anthony Simon, who represents more than 3,000 LIRR workers, told The Point he and other union representatives aren’t stopping their fight to benefit from the overtime provisions. Simon noted that last week, more than 20 other unions, representing airline workers, marine engineers, seafarers, railroad signalmen and other categories exempted by the bill, joined SMART in signing on to a letter to the leadership of the House and Senate. It asks Congress to "swiftly correct a technical error in the tax code," saying the One Big Beautiful Bill Act exempts millions of hourly workers and uses "arbitrary formulas" to calculate who benefits from the overtime provisions.

"We are working collectively to try to get this rectified or changed," Simon said in an interview. "We’re not going to give up on it."

Simon noted that the exclusion of LIRR workers wasn’t done maliciously, attributing it instead to the notion that "It was just too much happening at the same time."

"This was to them small potatoes but to us it’s very important," Simon said. "The timing just wasn’t in our favor for us to get the recommended changes from our organization [before the bill passed], but we’re still looking to do it. That’s for sure."

Simon has long been a powerful voice on the Island — and union workers like those at the railroad are a key constituency for elected officials.

So, when asked by The Point about the issue on Monday, all four local congressional representatives responded quickly with several promising to work on a fix.

Rep. Nick LaLota: "Quadrupling the SALT deduction will save my middle-class constituents thousands, and now I’m focused on delivering relief for those earning more through overtime."

Rep. Andrew Garbarino: "LIRR workers quite literally keep Long Island moving, and we need to make sure they’re not left behind. The goal was to help workers like them. This was an oversight, and we’re looking for the right avenue to fix it."

Rep. Tom Suozzi: "I was unhappy with the partisan way this was pushed through Congress. The exclusion of rail and aviation workers doesn’t make sense. I will work with my colleagues across the aisle to try to fix this for LIRR workers."

Rep. Laura Gillen: "Once again, the GOP’s tax bill offers illusory benefits but fails to deliver real relief. This disastrous bill is a slap in the face to the men and women of labor who power our transportation, rail, airline, trucking and maritime industries, excluding them from claiming a deduction that could cut their taxes and bring down costs for Long Island families."

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com

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Trump trauma

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