Weekend chit-chats between New Jersey Transit and the engineers’ union totally paid off, dude! They finally came to an agreement, putting an end to the first rail strike for the transit system in ages. The strike kicked off on Friday, marking the state’s first transit strike in over 40 years. This forced people who usually rely on New Jersey Transit to find alternative ways of getting around, like buses, cars, taxis, boats, or just chilling at home.
The main issue causing a delay in reaching an agreement was how to give the engineers a raise without messing up the transit agency’s finances. But hey, they figured it out, and regular rail service is expected to start back up at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen set the record straight after previously saying trains would be back on Monday. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s office explained that it takes about 24 hours to inspect and prep tracks, rail cars, and other stuff before full service can resume.
Murphy praised both the BLET and NJ TRANSIT for working things out, saying the agreement ensures that rail service will be back for the 100,000 folks who rely on it daily. As for the nitty-gritty details of the agreement, mum’s the word from both Murphy and the union. But Tom Haas, the union’s general chairman at NJ Transit, spilled some tea, saying the deal includes a pay raise that’s better than what was rejected last month. The agreement will be put up for a vote by the national union and the New Jersey transit board on June 11.
The walkout came after last-minute negotiations on Thursday fell through, leading to the state’s first strike in over 40 years. A month earlier, union members shot down a labor agreement with management. The union president, Mark Wallace, argued that NJ Transit needs to pay engineers wages that match up with Amtrak and Long Island Railroad to prevent them from jumping ship for better pay. The union claimed members were making an average of $113,000 per year and wanted to bump that up to $170,000. On the flip side, NJ Transit leaders disputed those numbers, saying engineers were actually pulling in around $135,000 annually, with some hitting over $200,000.
The union has been bleeding members as they head to other railroads for fatter paychecks. The number of engineers at NJ Transit has dropped from 500 to about 400 recently. These engineers are the ones in charge of running trains smoothly and safely between stations. NJ Transit, the country’s third-largest transit system, serves up nearly 1 million weekday trips, including routes into New York City. With the trains out of commission, commuters are left scrambling to find other ways to get around the Garden State.
Not really sure why this matters, but while the trains are on pause, folks still have a few options for getting from point A to point B in New Jersey. Adelle Caballero from NBC New York has the deets. So, yeah, that’s the scoop on the whole New Jersey Transit rail strike saga. Let’s hope things stay on track from here on out.
