NJ Transit gives strike update as another meeting with mediator is planned
As the NJ Transit rail strike continues, the engineers union and state officials on Saturday gave an update about where the negotiation stands.
Representatives for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and New Jersey transit officials met for about three and a half hours and said they had constructive discussions.
NJ Transit strike update
NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri said he believes the sides are 95% of the way to a deal, though trains remained halted for a second day with engineers on picket lines.
"Today's discussion continued to be constructive," Kolluri said after meeting with union reps.
BLET officials said the deal has been 95% done for about two years and only a few final details need to be resolved.
"Nobody wants to be out here. This isn't a happy time for us. It's something that we were forced into, something that was necessary," BLET General Chairman Tom Haas said. "And the sooner we can end this, the better off we'll all be. The passengers, NJ Transit, the engineers, the entire state."
Before the meeting, Kolluri said he was going back to the table with BLET to try and reach "a fair deal that will not break the bank."
"That is our principle, we are not moving from that. And I hope the union understands that that is where we are and that is where we will be," Kolluri said at a news conference Saturday morning. "Ultimately, fair wages is their position, which I respect. Not breaking the bank is our position that they should respect."
Both sides are scheduled to meet with a mediator Sunday at NJ Transit headquarters. They previously met with federal mediators in Washington, D.C. in a bid to avoid the strike last week.
When will the NJ Transit strike end?
The strike has halted rail service across New Jersey, impacting 100,000 daily train riders and more than 350,000 customers across the system overall. It also caused major gridlock for the Friday evening commute in Manhattan, with two-hour delays at the outbound Lincoln Tunnel.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, which represents about 400 of the agency's 12,000-person workforce, says its members haven't seen a raise in five years and are making $10 less an hour than their counterparts in the region.
Gov. Phil Murphy and NJ Transit officials say giving the engineers what they want would blow up the agency's budget and pass the cost on to taxpayers.
Meanwhile, riders worry if a deal isn't reached soon, the strike could have a bigger impact on the Monday commute.
Union officials said Friday once there is a tentative agreement, their members will get back to work. Kolluri could not say how quickly service would be restored.
"We've been working very diligently, should this strike come to an end soon, to make sure we're ready to wake up the railroad, as it were, to get our assets prepositioned, should we need it ready to go as soon as a deal is reached," he said Saturday.
The last NJ Transit strike was in 1983 and lasted about three weeks.
