Union leaders made the request for the emergency board during a press conference on Monday -- effectively delaying any potential LIRR strike for months.
That means service will continue on the busiest commuter railroad in North America while this emergency board process is underway. A strike could occur next May, however, if a compromise with the MTA isn't reached.
The news comes after the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen announced on Monday that 99.9% of its 529 active LIRR union members voted to authorize a strike.
The coalition of unions, however, agreed to formally request Trump to establish an emergency board to attempt to resolve the issues between the union and the LIRR and come to a new contract, staving off a potential strike that would have begun Thursday, impacting more than 270,000 customers.
The unions are seeking a 16% raise over a four-year-period, instead of the 9.5% on the table.
The union seemed to agree that further mediation would not result in an agreement. But as late as last week, they had not seemed willing to request White House intervention.
On Monday, BLET Vice President James Louis said he believed the request by the unions was a first.
"This is why the five unions decided to be the grown-ups in the room and request President Trump to appoint a presidential emergency board per the Railway Labor Act and allow both sides to present the proposals to the board," Louis said.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul decried the idea of a strike on Monday, stating that it would hurt LIRR employees and passengers.
"A strike would hurt not only the riders who rely on the LIRR, but also many hardworking LIRR employees and their families, who will be left without pay because of unrealistic demands and their union leadership's refusal to negotiate," Hochul said in a press release. "There is a fair offer on the table, and I have directed the MTA to be ready to negotiate anytime, anywhere."
According to the MTA, which runs the LIRR, the unions planning to strike next year have already rejected one deal that offered them a 9.5% wage increase over a three-year period, which would keep LIRR workers as the highest-paid railroad employees in the country. LIRR engineers currently make $160,000 a year on average and top out at $350,000, according to the agency.
A spokesperson for the MTA released the following statement:
"After months of radio silence, these outlier unions have finally admitted that they weren't serious about negotiating. They never had a plan to resolve this at the bargaining table," said MTA Chief, Policy and External Relations John J. McCarthy. "If these unions wanted to put riders first, they would either settle or agree to binding arbitration. And if they don't want to strike, they should say so - and finally show up to the negotiating table. This cynical delay serves no one."
Gil Lang, the General Chairman for the BLET's LIRR engineers, said the unions are trying to keep pace with the rising cost of living in New York.
"We are only asking for a fair contract -- one that provides modest wage gains, or at the very least, maintains real wages," Lang said. "Our members would not ratify anything short of that."
LIRR employees last went on strike in 1994. That strike lasted for two days.
ALSO READ: Gov. Hochul weighs in on potential LIRR strike, blames White House
Gov. Hochul weighs in on potential LIRR strike, blames White House
(ABC News contributed to this report.)
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