For the first time in 42 years, a work stoppage has sidelined New Jersey Transit’s rail service.
What’s next? The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, the union representing NJ Transit’s engineers, is scheduled to resume negotiations with NJ Transit on Sunday, before the new week of commuting. The union is asking for “fair and competitive wages” that are closer to what engineers on neighboring rail systems are paid. NJ Transit is arguing that additional pay hikes will mean increased fares or taxes.
In April, union leaders actually had a deal with NJ Transit. But rank-and-file members voted down the agreement, refusing to authorize a contract and arguing for more increases. Last week, federal mediators invited NJ Transit and union negotiators to Washington, D.C., but no new agreement ensued. And on Wednesday this week, negotiators spent more than six hours to try to come to a resolution.
In the meantime, commuters and travelers will have to find other ways to get around the state.
“We want nothing more than to be back at work,” said Tom Haas, general chairman for the engineers union on a picket line outside Newark Penn Station on Friday. “All these guys right here are not getting paid today. And we’re not running our trains. We’re not serving the passengers that we really care about. But the fact of the matter is that we have no other way to address this, this enormous inequity that we see.”
The union is a division of the national Teamsters union, and its leaders weighed in as well. Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said in a statement: “Railroad executives had every opportunity to reach a fair deal, but these f***ing clowns chose to waste money on decorating their lavish penthouse offices. New Jersey Transit could have avoided this strike, but they blew it.”
