Newark, NJ – New Jersey Traffic Transit Engineers have rejected A labor agreement with managementraising the potential of a strike or blocking next month.
The Brotherhood of Engineers of Locomotoras and Trainmen rejected on Tuesday the March agreement by a margin of 87%, the union said in a statement. The Railway Labor Law allows workers to attack or NJ Transit management to block workers as soon as May 15, according to the union.
“Our members are angry,” said the general president of the Tom Haas union. “I, together with other New Jersey traffic engineers, have kept the trains in motion, but we have been without an increase since 2019, during a period of high inflation and throughout the pandemic that claimed some of our co -workers.”
The president and CEO of NJ Transit, Kris Kolluri, said in a statement that he was disappointed that the members did not ratify the agreement and that he was committed to returning to the negotiating table.
“My approach remains to reach a fair and sustainable agreement that works for all and guarantees that NJ Transit can continue to provide the reliable service in which our clients tell,” Koluri said.
A message that seeks comments with Democratic governor Phil Murphy, whose administration supervises the agency, also stayed on Wednesday.
The details about the agreement were murky. A statement published at the time of the agreement cited a “reasonable salary increase” for union members, a resolution of a long data complaint.
Kolluri began in January as the NJ Transit executive. Last summer, then President Joe Biden signed an executive order creating a meeting to resolve the dispute. At the momentNJ Transit said a strike could be possible as soon as March 2025.
New Jersey Transit operates buses and railroads in the state, providing an estimated 925,000 trips from Monday to Friday. The labor dispute dates back to 2019, when the engineers contract expired.
