Train services in New Jersey came to a complete stop just after midnight on Friday, as a major transit strike—the state’s first in decades—began following a long-running pay dispute.
The strike is expected to disrupt commutes across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York. NJ Transit, the third-largest transit system in the U.S., typically serves around 350,000 passengers daily.
Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) began picketing early Friday morning at 4:00 am. “Due to a strike by locomotive engineers representing the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, all NJ TRANSIT rail service is currently suspended,” the agency announced on its website.
Though NJ Transit rolled out contingency plans, it admitted that these alternatives would only serve about 20% of regular rail passengers. The agency advised those able to work remotely to do so.
The union says engineers have gone five years without a raise and are pushing for contracts that would align their pay with counterparts at the Long Island Rail Road. Roughly 450 engineers are involved in the dispute.
“NJ Transit has half a billion dollars for a swanky new headquarters,” said BLET National President Mark Wallace. “They have money for penthouse views and pet projects—but not for their front-line workers. Enough is enough.”
Negotiations Breakdown
Last-minute talks broke down Thursday night. NJ Transit officials argue that the requested wage increase would cost the agency—and taxpayers—millions of dollars.
During a press conference shortly before the strike began, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said the union rejected a fair deal that offered engineers “their hard-earned raises without blowing up NJ Transit’s budget.”
“I recognize that our transit workers are vital,” Murphy stated. “But so are the hundreds of thousands of families who rely on these services every day to keep our economy moving.”
He urged union leaders to return to the negotiating table on Sunday morning.
The strike is expected to have the greatest impact on about 70,000 New Jersey commuters traveling to New York City, while affecting thousands more across the transit network.
According to The Bergen Record, the last statewide NJ Transit strike occurred in 1983 and lasted for 34 days.
AFP
