2023/08/31
Off-duty NJ Transit engineers in May protested the agency's decision to lease new offices in a pricey complex but, according to the union, not to move forward on negotiations on a new labor agreement. Engineers voted to strike if federal mediation and negotiation requirements fail to produce a new contract.
Union NJ Transit locomotive engineers and trainmen voted Thursday to strike, an action that union officials assured riders wouldn’t happen until federal mediation and negotiation requirements are exhausted.
Roughly 81% of the 494 members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen returned ballots, and of those, almost all were in favor of a future strike against NJ Transit if negotiations fail to produce a new contract for its members, BLE&T officials said. Of 399 ballots returned, 397 were cast for strike authorization and two were ruled invalid.
Union officials reiterated earlier statements that a strike would not be called immediately, but could happen at the end of various negotiation and mediation processes required by federal law governing railroad employees. The deadline for returning ballots was noon Thursday.
“NJT’s locomotive engineers have spoken loud and clear,” said Eddie Hall, National BLE&T president. “(NJ Transit) would rather litigate than negotiate. We would prefer to reach a voluntary settlement, but make no mistake, with this vote the clock is now ticking. The process to be granted release from the National Mediation Board has begun. As soon as it is lawful for us to act, we will.”
The last strike against NJ Transit was in March 1983 and lasted for 34 days.
“We are still actively engaged in mediation with the union and a strike is not permissible while mediation is ongoing – that would be a violation of the Railway Labor Act, said Jim Smith, a spokesperson for NJ Transit.
The BLE&T is the last of 15 rail unions to reach a contract with NJ Transit and announced earlier this month it would take a strike vote of its members. The union has been without a new contract for three years.
“There is a long (mediation) process that goes well into 2024,” Kevin Corbett, NJ Transit president and CEO, said in an earlier interview with NJ Advance Media.
The federal Railway Labor Act spells out the process for when federal negotiators get involved, and other required steps before a strike is allowed, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.
The act also provides mandatory dispute resolution procedures that include use of a federal mediator through the National Mediation Board. That is the step NJ Transit and the union are in now, Corbett said.
In past interviews, NJ Transit officials said it has offered similar contracts and wage increases that 14 other rail unions agreed to under a process called pattern bargaining.
The strike vote sent the union and NJ Transit to court on Aug. 17 after the agency contended the vote and union statements violated a June 2022 court order against any wildcat job actions and sought a contempt of court ruling. NJ Transit attorneys argued the union planned to strike on a day after the vote on Sept. 1.
The judge dismissed NJ Transit ‘s motion but did issue an order that required the union to email members they were not to strike after the vote to comply with the June 2022 order, court documents said.
National BLE&T union officials repeated earlier statements that it would follow the Railway Labor Act.
The June 2022 court order was issued after engineers staged a sick out during the Juneteenth 2022 holiday, which other unions that settled contracts were paid for but engineers who were working under the old contract, did not. That job action resulted in hundreds of canceled trains and suspension of service on the evening of June 17.
Negotiations are stalled because the BLE&T and NJ Transit disagree over salaries.
BLE&T officials want salaries similar to what engineers are paid on other regional passenger railroads such as Amtrak and the Long Island Rail Road. They argued that engineers have to meet higher training and qualification standards than other rail employees do, which should be worth a higher wage.
The disagreement flared up during a May demonstration outside NJ Transit’s Newark headquarters where off duty engineers picketed and criticized the agency for spending $440 million to lease new office space at 2 Gateway Center for the next 25 years. The agency faces an approaching budget gap predicted to hit $957 million in mid-2026.
“Our members at NJT are furious that the agency has millions for penthouse views, but not a dime for train crews who kept the trains running throughout the worst days of the pandemic and haven’t had a raise since 2019,” Hall said in a statement.
Following Labor Day, BLE&T officials will begin a public information and advertising campaign to educate both commuters and New Jersey’s voters about the status of contract talks and the transit agency’s decision to spend funds for “lavish office space rather than wages for the people who keep the trains moving,” officials said.
In 2016, locomotive engineers and conductors were the last two unions to settle with NJ Transit and officials announced contingency plans in the event of a strike, Under those plans, agency buses could only move 40,000 of the 105,000 daily commuters to and from New York. Both unions ratified a second contract offer in July 2016.
NJ Transit commuters aren’t the only ones facing a potential strike in their future.
Metro North commuters in Connecticut could face a strike this fall after two Transportation Worker Union locals took a strike vote after officials of those unions said negotiations before the National Mediation Board were at an impasse, CT Insider reported.
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.
Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com.
© Advance Local Media LLC.
Union NJ Transit locomotive engineers and trainmen voted Thursday to strike, an action that union officials assured riders wouldn’t happen until federal mediation and negotiation requirements are exhausted.
Roughly 81% of the 494 members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen returned ballots, and of those, almost all were in favor of a future strike against NJ Transit if negotiations fail to produce a new contract for its members, BLE&T officials said. Of 399 ballots returned, 397 were cast for strike authorization and two were ruled invalid.
Union officials reiterated earlier statements that a strike would not be called immediately, but could happen at the end of various negotiation and mediation processes required by federal law governing railroad employees. The deadline for returning ballots was noon Thursday.
“NJT’s locomotive engineers have spoken loud and clear,” said Eddie Hall, National BLE&T president. “(NJ Transit) would rather litigate than negotiate. We would prefer to reach a voluntary settlement, but make no mistake, with this vote the clock is now ticking. The process to be granted release from the National Mediation Board has begun. As soon as it is lawful for us to act, we will.”
The last strike against NJ Transit was in March 1983 and lasted for 34 days.
“We are still actively engaged in mediation with the union and a strike is not permissible while mediation is ongoing – that would be a violation of the Railway Labor Act, said Jim Smith, a spokesperson for NJ Transit.
The BLE&T is the last of 15 rail unions to reach a contract with NJ Transit and announced earlier this month it would take a strike vote of its members. The union has been without a new contract for three years.
“There is a long (mediation) process that goes well into 2024,” Kevin Corbett, NJ Transit president and CEO, said in an earlier interview with NJ Advance Media.
The federal Railway Labor Act spells out the process for when federal negotiators get involved, and other required steps before a strike is allowed, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.
The act also provides mandatory dispute resolution procedures that include use of a federal mediator through the National Mediation Board. That is the step NJ Transit and the union are in now, Corbett said.
In past interviews, NJ Transit officials said it has offered similar contracts and wage increases that 14 other rail unions agreed to under a process called pattern bargaining.
The strike vote sent the union and NJ Transit to court on Aug. 17 after the agency contended the vote and union statements violated a June 2022 court order against any wildcat job actions and sought a contempt of court ruling. NJ Transit attorneys argued the union planned to strike on a day after the vote on Sept. 1.
The judge dismissed NJ Transit ‘s motion but did issue an order that required the union to email members they were not to strike after the vote to comply with the June 2022 order, court documents said.
National BLE&T union officials repeated earlier statements that it would follow the Railway Labor Act.
The June 2022 court order was issued after engineers staged a sick out during the Juneteenth 2022 holiday, which other unions that settled contracts were paid for but engineers who were working under the old contract, did not. That job action resulted in hundreds of canceled trains and suspension of service on the evening of June 17.
Negotiations are stalled because the BLE&T and NJ Transit disagree over salaries.
BLE&T officials want salaries similar to what engineers are paid on other regional passenger railroads such as Amtrak and the Long Island Rail Road. They argued that engineers have to meet higher training and qualification standards than other rail employees do, which should be worth a higher wage.
The disagreement flared up during a May demonstration outside NJ Transit’s Newark headquarters where off duty engineers picketed and criticized the agency for spending $440 million to lease new office space at 2 Gateway Center for the next 25 years. The agency faces an approaching budget gap predicted to hit $957 million in mid-2026.
“Our members at NJT are furious that the agency has millions for penthouse views, but not a dime for train crews who kept the trains running throughout the worst days of the pandemic and haven’t had a raise since 2019,” Hall said in a statement.
Following Labor Day, BLE&T officials will begin a public information and advertising campaign to educate both commuters and New Jersey’s voters about the status of contract talks and the transit agency’s decision to spend funds for “lavish office space rather than wages for the people who keep the trains moving,” officials said.
In 2016, locomotive engineers and conductors were the last two unions to settle with NJ Transit and officials announced contingency plans in the event of a strike, Under those plans, agency buses could only move 40,000 of the 105,000 daily commuters to and from New York. Both unions ratified a second contract offer in July 2016.
NJ Transit commuters aren’t the only ones facing a potential strike in their future.
Metro North commuters in Connecticut could face a strike this fall after two Transportation Worker Union locals took a strike vote after officials of those unions said negotiations before the National Mediation Board were at an impasse, CT Insider reported.
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.
Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com.
© Advance Local Media LLC.
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