The L.I.R.R. has been successful under Ms. Williams in reducing overtime and some penalty payments, but eliminating those penalties is another matter. “We have not been successful in achieving that in collective bargaining,” she said.

One penalty payment agreed to by management proved so embarrassing that the union was willing to give it up. In the 1980s, workers who maintained the track corridors got an extra two hours of pay if it rained. But because the agreement was poorly constructed, it opened the gates to abuse.

The intent was to pay extra for work performed in the rain, but workers got paid even if it rained going to or from the work site. In one year, they got rain pay on 42 days when no rain fell, transportation authority investigators said in a 1989 report. One union official was quoted as saying that workers deserved the supplement “even if a bird flies over and urinates on them.”

In one six-month period, rain pay cost the railroad $1.1 million. “Some of these things are ridiculous,” said Gerard P. Bringmann, general chairman of the Long Island Rail Road Commuter Council. “It makes absolutely no sense. Any company would go bankrupt that operates that way.”

White-Collar Disabled

If L.I.R.R. managers had decided in years past to investigate disabilities, they would not have had to look very far; most of them were retiring and getting disability payments, too.

Records show that in one recent three-year period, more than 60 white-collar managers retired and were classified as disabled. Like union members, many managers can retire at age 50 or 55 with benefits.

One such retiree was Janet Lewis, a former director of government and community affairs. Ms. Lewis declined to discuss the nature of her disability, saying it was a private matter. Her husband, Michael J. Canino, is also retired on disability. He is a former authority board member and chairman of the L.I.R.R. labor council, which represents all of the L.I.R.R. unions.