The strike leaves 350,000 commuters daily without accessing the train to Manhattan.
Train services between New Jersey and New York remained suspended for the second day on Saturday as negotiations continued between union leaders and state officials over a contract that would allow railroad engineers to return to work.
New Jersey Transit President Chris Kolli and New Jersey Gov. Murphy had scheduled a serial meeting with locomotive engineers and train (Brett) Brotherhood on both Saturday and Sunday to end the strike before Monday morning rush hour.
According to Kolluri, the union requested a meeting on Saturday, which was arranged late Friday. He and the governor had already planned to meet with union leaders on Sunday.
The 450 engineers from New Jersey Transit got a job at 12am on Friday, halting all rail services and leaving around 350,000 commuters daily without accessing trains to Manhattan. In response, NJ Transit added additional buses to supplement the service, but the capacity is still limited.
Kolluri admitted that the bus was busy on Friday, but he said the service was run efficiently “to ensure that the bus is available to everyone who wants to go to the bus.”
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At the heart of the labor dispute is the hourly wage paid to NJ Transit Engineers, the backbone of the country’s third largest commuter rail network. The agency proposes pay raises in line with the agreements reached with the other 14 unions, following a model called pattern negotiation. However, Brett members argue that they must increase beyond their salaries to remain competitive with the nearby railways, warning that without higher wages more workers will leave better pay positions elsewhere.
Currently, NJ Transit Engineers earn $49.92 and significantly fewer starting base wages than the Long Island Railroad counterparts, who make $55.44 per hour, and Amtrak Engineers who make $39.78 per hour.
“If Brett chooses to strike, the cost of providing a limited alternative service would be $4 million a day to taxpayers,” the state-owned enterprise claimed.
The interim contract reached in March would have increased Brett members’ hourly wages to $49.82 by summer. The deal seemed temporarily to avoid NJ Transit’s first rail strike for the first time in 40 years, but was overwhelmingly rejected by 87% of its members.
Some elected officials are urging them to return to the table on both sides and reach an agreement as soon as possible.
“We are seriously concerned about the consequences of this strike against our residents and our businesses,” said Teresa Lewis, the state Senate majority leader.
For now, NJ Transit asks everyone who can work from home to do so, limiting travel only to important purposes.
