Train engineers at New Jersey Transit walked off the job just after midnight Friday. This marks the nation’s third-largest commuter railroad operator strike at the agency since 1983 and follows six years of contract negotiations that ultimately hit a wall.
With no agreement on wages, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) made good on its strike threat. “NJ Transit has a half-billion dollars for a swanky new headquarters and $53 million for decorating the interior of that unnecessary building… They have money for penthouse views and pet projects, just not for their front-line workers. Enough is enough. We will stay out until our members receive the fair pay that they deserve,” Mark Wallace, the union's national president, said.
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Roughly 100,000 rail commuters, mostly headed into New York City, are now seeking alternate travel options. NJ Transit has urged riders to work from home or use buses, ferries, and subways.
When will NJ Transit's train services resume
When can you expect everything to go back to normal? Not before Sunday, as talks are expected to resume on that day, according to the National Mediation Board.
{{/usCountry}}When can you expect everything to go back to normal? Not before Sunday, as talks are expected to resume on that day, according to the National Mediation Board.
{{/usCountry}}NJ Transit President & CEO Kris Kolluri expressed in an official statement, “While the NJ TRANSIT team is doing everything possible to provide alternative travel options in the event of a stoppage, our focus remains on preventing one altogether.”
“I have met with union leadership several times and will continue to negotiate in good faith, because a strike isn’t good for employees, and it certainly isn’t good for the 350,000 customers who depend on us every day.”
Notably, just in March, union and agency leaders shook hands on a deal that would’ve brought engineer salaries in line with those at the Long Island Rail Road. But in April, union members rejected the proposal.
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Gov. Phil Murphy defended the state’s position at a Thursday night press conference, saying, “We must reach a final deal that is both fair to employees and at the same time is affordable to New Jersey’s commuters and taxpayers.”
Kolluri echoed that, “no point” in providing salaries to those engineers that eventually would “bankrupt” the transit.
For more updates, visit njtransit.com.