UPDATE: New Jersey Transit’s train engineers have reached a tentative deal to end their three-day strike that had halted service for some 100,000 daily riders, including routes to Newark airport and across the Hudson River to New York City. The transit system and the union confirmed a deal was reached Sunday and regular service resumed Tuesday.
Original Story:
The possibility of a strike or lockout by workers of New Jersey’s public transit system is getting closer and closer.
The strike deadline is 12:01 a.m. on Friday, May 16.
Representatives of both the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLET) and NJ Transit remain at odds over agreed-upon wages for their locomotive engineers. Last month, 87% of the union’s membership voted down a tentative eight-year contract with NJ Transit.
The wage level for the rejected contract would have brought BLET members in line with what NJ Transit is paying its other workers.
NJ Transit claims that the average salary for union members is currently $135,000 per year, and that the tentative contract it offered would have increased this to $172,856 per year. “Under the tentative agreement BLET members rejected,” NJ Transit says on its website, “locomotive engineers would have averaged $172,856 as of July 1, 2027. The highest-paid locomotive engineer would be earning $286,000 in 2027. These wages are competitive within the region, higher than wages at SEPTA in Philadelphia, and lower than those at MTA (Metro-North Railroad and Long Island Rail Road) in New York.
“Under the BLET’s proposal, the highest paid engineer’s salary would increase to $314,174 in 2027. It isn’t reasonable to live and work in New Jersey, but demand to be paid like you live and work in New York.”
BLET representatives dispute NJ Transit’s claims. They say that the average salary for their members in 2024 was only $113,000 a year.
“Unfortunately for the locomotive engineers in New Jersey Transit, this is simply not the case,” BLET General Chairman Tom Haas said during a May 9 press conference. “Reviewing publicly available data for all locomotive engineers in 2024, the average was only $113,000 per year. And a substantial number of locomotive engineers fell well below that average. So, you may ask why the discrepancy? Apparently, it seems like New Jersey Transit has been unable to understand their own payroll data. We have discovered that for reasons unknown to us, New Jersey Transit classifies locomotive engineers in two separate groups in their payroll system, with roughly half of the locomotive engineers in it. That one group has significantly higher annual earnings than the other. And apparently, it was that group that New Jersey Transit has been citing when they offer their figures on average wages, their offers, and our proposals.
“The group that New Jersey Transit excluded, however, has average annual earnings of only $98,000. That’s about 30% less than what New Jersey Transit has been claiming.”
The union also disputed NJ Transit claims that wage increases would cost taxpayers an additional $1.3 billion and lead to a fare increase. “In fact, our proposal would cost New Jersey Transit just over $4 million per year more than their last proposal. So, the cost of an entire year of our proposal, which would guarantee that New Jersey Transit continues to provide service for 100% of the ridership. New Jersey Transit’s contingency plan is to spend that same amount, $4 million per day, to provide service to less than 20% of their daily ridership.
“Despite what NJ Transit tries to claim,” Haas said, “we have sought nothing more than equal pay for equal work, only to be continuously rebuffed by New Jersey Transit.”
BLET members are tasked with having to be able to drive, monitor, and operate NJ Transit trains and ensure the safety of any passengers or freight they are transporting. A recent NJ Transit job description for prospective train engineers explains that “The Locomotive Engineer (LE) position entails deep knowledge and application of train operating rules and regulations. It involves the operation of locomotives, performing pre-trip inspections and tests, monitoring track conditions during runs, controlling train speed by throttle adjustment and brake application, and ensuring the safety of passengers and equipment. Typically, LEs monitor speed, air pressure, battery use, and other instruments to ensure that the locomotive runs smoothly. They observe the track for obstructions, such as fallen tree branches, and use a variety of controls, such as throttles and air brakes to operate the train.”
On May 12, BLET and NJ Transit negotiators met with members of the National Mediation Board (NMB) in Washington, D.C., to see if the strike could be averted. BLET did not make any comments in the aftermath of that meeting, but NJ Transit President Kris Kolluri said, “We found the discussion to be constructive and look forward to continuing negotiations in good faith. To respect the collective bargaining process, we will not be sharing any additional details publicly at this time.”
BLET asserts in a television commercial that it’s been airing in New Jersey that New York’s implementation of congestion pricing and mandatory office returns in the city have led to a rise in NJ Transit ridership and increased their members’ workloads. The union says its 461 members and trainees who work for NJ Transit haven’t received a raise in six years. They are “the lowest-paid locomotive engineers at any of the major passenger railroads in the United States,” the union notes. “The contract dispute has gone through years of NMB-sponsored mediation and recommendations from two Presidential Emergency Boards.”
If a deal isn’t reached and BLET members go on strike, NJ Transit plans to add more buses to some of its major routes and contract private bus services to help transport riders.
NJ Transit’s train engineers haven’t gone out on strike since March 1983, when they remained out of work for a total of 34 days.