New Jersey Transit’s train engineers have ratified a preliminary agreement that concluded their recent three-day strike, which had disrupted services for roughly 100,000 daily commuters, including those traveling to Newark airport and across the Hudson River to New York City.
The agency along with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen disclosed the voting outcomes on Tuesday, revealing that the seven-year agreement, set to span from 2020 to 2027, was favored by 398 members, while only 21 opposed it.
As for the formal adoption of this deal, NJ Transit’s board of directors is anticipated to cast their vote during their Wednesday meeting.
The specifics of the contract are yet to be made public; however, the union highlighted a “notable pay raise” and the addressing of other key concerns for the estimated 450 engineers employed by the agency. A significant hurdle in negotiations was determining a method to enhance engineers’ salaries without imposing severe financial ramifications on the transit organization.
The strike, which began on May 16, was New Jersey’s first transit work stoppage in over four decades. It compelled regular New Jersey Transit users to switch to alternatives like buses, private cars, taxis, and ferries, or potentially remain home. This action followed a union rejection of a previous labor agreement with management.
Kris Kolluri, NJ Transit’s CEO, stated that the arrangement signifies “a fair and responsible agreement for our locomotive engineers, NJ Transit, our customers, and the taxpayers of New Jersey.”
Union leaders echoed this sentiment.
“Our objective was never to become the highest-paid engineers; we sought fair compensation for equivalent work,” remarked Tom Haas, an NJ Transit engineer and the general chairman of BLET at the commuter railroad. “This deal brings our pay closer to what our counterparts earn for similar roles with equal expertise and training. The agreement secures essential pay raises for us without severely impacting NJT’s budget or necessitating fare increases for passengers.”
As the third-largest transit system in the United States, NJ Transit runs both bus and rail services within New Jersey, facilitating nearly a million weekday journeys, including trips to New York City. During the strike, NJ Transit’s commuter train services, crucial for linking New York City’s Penn Station with communities across northern New Jersey and accommodating travelers to Newark airport—which itself has been experiencing separate delays—were completely halted.