New Jersey’s commuters aren’t too hopeful that NJ Transit can reach agreement with the union representing its engineers, averting a strike that would bring train service to a standstill statewide.
“All I see are the indicators that it’s going to happen,” said Fran Garfinkel, a commuter at Metropark. “I don’t see any indicators that there’s any talking.”
Added fellow Metropark commuter Hichem Boualdja. “I’m very concerned about it, because I grew up in Jersey City, I don’t have a license or a car. I have to take the train.”
Bill Dwyer, an associate teaching professor at Rutgers University who specializes in labor negotiations and conflict resolution, said this standoff is unique for a few reasons. “The engineers have been working for some six years without a contract, which is an eternity in the world of labor relations.”
He said contracts are not typically negotiated through the media. Over the last few weeks, details have spilled out from NJ Transit and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen press conferences, with each side accusing the other of misrepresenting data. NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri also accused the union of bad-faith negotiating after union leadership agreed to a tentative deal, only for the union rank-and-file to vote nearly 90% against it.
“Most times, union leaders are very, very in tune with what their membership is expecting,” said Dwyer. “I just think it was a miscalculation. A very serious one.”
