New Jersey Transit locomotive engineers started striking early Friday, triggering a shutdown of the agency’s rail service and disrupting travel for thousands of commuters.
The walk-out marks the first railroad strike in more than 40 years for the transit agency. After years of negotiations, NJ Transit, which operates more than 925,000 weekday trips across its rail, bus and light-rail platforms, and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen failed to agree on a new contract.
“After 15-hours of non-stop contract talks today, no agreement on a wage increase was reached,” the union said in a statement late Thursday. “NJ Transit’s 450 engineers and trainees will be on strike starting Friday.”
A wage dispute is at the center of the fight. The union has been pushing for the rail workers’ first raise since 2019, while NJ Transit Chief Executive Officer Kris Kolluri has called the union’s proposal unaffordable. The union rejected a tentative contract deal with the agency in April, and their counteroffer was denied thereafter.
The two sides have provided conflicting reports on the average earnings of the engineers. NJ Transit officials said that the workers make $135,000 a year on average, with the highest earners pulling in more than $200,000. Union representatives argue those numbers are inflated, saying that the average was only $113,000 per year, with a substantial number of locomotive engineers falling well below that.
BLET General Chairman Tom Haas said that cost savings such as work rules, as well as health and welfare benefits were discussed on Thursday but the two parties couldn’t come to an agreement. The union’s National President Mark Wallace added that the National Mediation Board has called for a meeting on Sunday.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said he’s “not shocked” by the union’s decision.
“We were hoping for the best. We’re prepared for the worst,” Murphy said during a media briefing in Newark. “We are willing to sit, to talk, negotiate at literally a moment’s notice.”
The labor fight comes as transit agencies across the country are staring down a funding crisis. With billions of dollars of pandemic-era aid running out, officials are struggling to balance their budgets.
The union has said it wants parity with engineers working at other major US railroads. But NJ Transit officials have warned that agreeing to the demands would require increasing a tax on New Jersey businesses or raising fares.
“We must reach a final deal that is both fair to employees, and at the same time affordable for New Jersey’s commuters and taxpayers,” Murphy said.
Service hit
Engineers are responsible for operating the trains, and without them, service will be severely impacted. A coordinated effort by the rail worker’s union to call in sick in 2022 forced the system to shut down all train service for an entire day.
In 2016 NJ Transit contract negotiations were settled hours before the strike deadline. The last railroad strike against NJ Transit was in 1983 and lasted about a month.
The shutdown risks eroding commuter confidence in NJ Transit, which has struggled with service disruptions partly caused by breakdowns of its aging infrastructure.
NJ Transit officials had encouraged riders to work remotely in the event of a strike, and travel on the system for essential purposes only. The agency unveiled a contingency plan that adds capacity to some existing bus routes.
