More than 300,000 daily Long Island Rail Road riders are facing the clear and present possibility of a strike that will suspend service as soon as next Thursday, throwing their daily commutes into chaos.

Five of the unions representing just under half of the LIRR’s 7,000 unionized employees have rejected the MTA’s contract offer and indicated that they are willing to walk to achieve the raises they believe are appropriate — but which are larger than the increases already accepted by the majority of LIRR workers. That would lead to a change in the pattern of negotiations for all of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s unions.

As the official representative for LIRR commuters, I rarely take a position on contract negotiations, but with the distinct possibility of a strike against th

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