[Update Below] A tentative contract agreement has been reached between the LIRR union representatives and the MTA.

The news was announced on the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 589 page, with a statement reading "A STRIKE HAS BEEN AVERTED! A tentative agreement has been reached. Details to follow."

Sources inside the LIRR confirm that a deal has indeed been struck, but that the official agreement has not yet been ratified by all parties.

"The deal includes no strike, a seventeen percent hike over six-and-a-half years, full back pay, and two percent for medical pay. For new hires, there will be a six year progression, four percent pension for fifteen years and two percent medical," one source says. "Unions wanted six years for wages, MTA wanted seven, they settled on six-and-a-half. Currently employees only pay pensions for ten years, so they bumped it up to fifteen for new hires."

[Update] This afternoon Governor Cuomo was joined by MTA Chairman and CEO Thomas F. Prendergast and the United Transportation Union President Anthony Simon in a press conference announcing the labor agreement.

“The Long Island Rail Road is a critical artery in connecting the downstate region, and the men and women who keep it running play a vital role in the lives of our commuters and in the communities that the LIRR serves,” Governor Cuomo said.

Under the terms of the agreement, based on the recommendations of the Presidential Emergency Board, existing LIRR employees will receive 17 percent raises over a term of 6-1/2 years. To ensure the long-term affordability of these wage increases, all employees will for the first time contribute to their health insurance costs, and new employees will have different wage progressions and pension plan contributions. The contract, which is still subject to approval from the eight Long Island Rail Road unions followed by ratification from their membership, will not have any impact on MTA fares.

“The agreement we reached today with the assistance of Governor Cuomo is just what he advocated - a fair and reasonable contract that will enable the nation’s busiest commuter railroad to continue to serve the people of Long Island,” MTA Chairman Thomas F. Prendergast said.

Governor Cuomo ended the conference by telling reporters he "sweetened the deal" by agreeing to keep the meeting short, and expressed envy for Mayor Bill de Blasio's Italian vacation plans.