NJ Transit strike halts trains statewide, as engineers take to picket lines
NJ Transit rail engineers are on strike Friday, shutting down train service for more than 100,000 daily riders across the state.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy gave an update on the negotiations Friday morning, saying "it did not have to come to this." He said NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri and his team have been working around the clock for months to avoid this outcome.
"Our single highest priority -- in addition to making the system work -- just as it has been for the past several months, is reaching a fair and affordable deal as soon as humanly possible," Murphy said. "A deal that provides NJ Transit's employees, including our locomotive engineers, the wages and the benefits they deserve without being forced to raise costs on riders, commuters and taxpayers."
Murphy called NJ Transit employees the backbone of the state's public transit system, adding, "but the workers who depend on NJ Transit are the backbone of our entire economy." The governor also pointed out the striking Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) members represent about 400 of its 12,000-person workforce.
"It is, frankly, a mess of their own making, and it is a slap in the face of every commuter who relies on NJ Transit," Murphy said. "But we're not here this morning to point fingers. We are here to demonstrate that our administration remains ready to get NJ Transit back to full speed and to provide the BLET's members their hard earned raises."
Murphy and Kolluri have repeatedly said they want to reach a deal without jeopardizing the agency's overall finances.
The governor says the union walked away from a deal in March that would have secured wages close to what LIRR engineers make. Officials say they are open to continuing negotiations, but what the union is asking for would blow up the agency's budget and pass the cost to commuters.
"We said to them, we want to get back to work, but we want to make sure you continue to work. Because what's the point in giving you a pay raise if a couple years from now your job is not going to exist?" said Kolluri.
Both sides are scheduled to meet with the federal mediation board Sunday in Washington, D.C.
NJ Transit engineers union remains "optimistic"
Riders navigated the first morning commute with the changes, as picket lines formed outside the agency's headquarters in Newark, as well as Penn Station and in Atlantic City.
"We're sorry for the inconvenience that's going on here, this is not something that the engineers take lightly," BLET National Vice President James Louis told reporters Friday morning "It was 1983, the last strike, this is something we do not do. But it got to this point that we had to do something."
Louis said the union is still optimistic about reaching an agreement and getting back to work.
"I'm always optimistic, I thought we were optimistic last night, we thought we had a deal," Louis said. "I'd love to get a call here and say, 'let's get upstairs and get this done.' That's what we're waiting for, or we'll be waiting until the [National Mediation Board] tries to get us together."
"We thought that we were making progress. New Jersey Transit chose to get up at 9:15 and leave the negotiations," said BLET President Mark Wallace.
The last NJ Transit strike in 1983 lasted about three weeks. Most recently, there was a potential strike in 2016, but it was averted just a day before it was scheduled to begin.
"We hope this is not a long strike. I was around for the 1983 strike, I've seen what that was like, it was a prolonged strike, and nobody wins out of that," Louis said.
"We just want to get back to work moving the people of the great state of New Jersey," said worker Michael Delatore on the picket line. "I have a 7-month-old at home and a mortgage, like everyone else, my wife's been laid off."
The union added as soon as a tentative deal is reached, the engineers will return and trains will resume.
NJ Transit strike update for morning commute
At Hoboken Terminal, the train tracks were empty Friday morning, as union members picketed nearby. At Penn Station in Manhattan, there were no staff in sight, the screens were showing no trains and ticket kiosks were down.
For the 350,000 people who rely on NJ Transit every day, it was a logistical nightmare. Tens of thousands of commuters were left to figure it out after train service came to a halt just after midnight.
While the agency drew up contingency plans, they don't start until Monday and will only be able to accommodate a small percentage of passengers. Officials said the best bet was to work from home Friday.
Amtrak, PATH, light rail and ferry service are some other alternatives.
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop told CBS News New York he expects more traffic and congestion, as buses drop people off at PATH stations.
"Hopefully, people do take the work from home option today. But come next week, if this continues, I don't think that the PATH system can handle more capacity, to be honest with you," Fulop said Friday morning. "Anybody who uses that in the morning knows that it is shoulder-to-shoulder. And if you are having buses coming from Chatham and Morristown and all over New Jersey and dropping them in Hoboken and Jersey City to use the PATH system, the Port Authority is going to have a real problem, and I don't even know how they resolve that."
Strike impacting Shakira fans headed to MetLife concert
None of the options are ideal, with some taking more time and others costing more in ticket prices. Officials also warn overcrowding is likely.
"There are buses, luckily. But knowing the amount of people that are going to be impacted by the train and then going to the bus, it's going to be tricky," one commuter said. "Or swimming across the Hudson."
"I'm hoping it boils over, by Sunday they sign their contracts, and back to work on Monday," said another commuter.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said additional staff will be ready to help riders navigate the changes and deal with any crowding.
Meanwhile, the strike comes as Shakira fans head to her concerts at MetLife Stadium on Thursday and Friday nights. NJ Transit preemptively canceled service for Thursday's show to avoid people being stranded without a ride home.
