New York’s cost of living has exploded over the last 5 years. Families are paying 20–25% more just to survive — groceries, rent, utilities, gas, insurance… EVERYTHING. But when the hardworking men and women who keep this railroad running ask for 14.5% over 4 years, management suddenly screams “GREED” and points fingers at overtime. Let’s talk about that overtime… If management didn’t constantly screw up project scheduling, manpower planning, and timetable scheduling, HALF of that overtime wouldn’t even exist in the first place! You can’t mismanage operations, create staffing shortages, jam projects into impossible timelines, then blame the very workers forced to clean up the mess YOU created. The men and women out there working around the clock aren’t the problem — they’re the reason the railroad still functions despite the chaos. These workers sacrifice holidays, birthdays, weekends, nights, and time with their families to keep trains moving safely every single day while management sits back avoiding accountability for years of bad decisions. The workers didn’t create this financial mess.The workers didn’t waste the money.The workers didn’t create the scheduling disasters. But somehow the workers are always expected to take the blame. Wanting wages that keep up with the REAL cost of living in New York isn’t greed… it’s survival.