ATU represents more than 5,500 NJ Transit employees, including light rail workers, bus drivers, clerical workers, mechanics and other maintenance workers, skilled project laborers, and field salary employees. The transit agency covers a service area of 5,325 square miles and provides more than 925,000 weekday trips on three light rail lines, 263 bus routes, 12 commuter rail lines, and through Access Link paratransit service.
While terms of the NJ Transit-ATU agreement were not disclosed, “pending ATU’s notification of its members,” they are “within the established pattern and reflect our mutual and ongoing commitment to fairness, efficiency, affordability, and financial sustainability for the hundreds of thousands of customers who depend on NJ Transit bus service every day,” according to parties.
“I appreciate the professionalism and reasonableness of the ATU leadership throughout this process,” NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri said. “This tentative agreement reflects a shared commitment to our more than 5,500 dedicated employees represented by the ATU, our valued riders, and New Jersey taxpayers—and I’m grateful for the collaborative spirit that made it possible.”
“I would like to thank both the ATU leadership and NJ Transit for their professionalism during the months of negotiation meetings,” ATU Chair, New Jersey State Council Orlando Riley said. “Reaching a tentative agreement reflects a commitment to support the hard-working men and women in the Amalgamated Transit Union and the communities we serve. We look forward to continuing our relationship with NJ Transit as we continue to provide reliable bus service to the public and improve the quality of life for our members.”
“I want to extend my gratitude to the leadership of NJ Transit for their willingness to engage in constructive dialogue throughout this process,” ATU International Vice President Ray Greaves added. “I commend the leadership of ATU NJ State Council for their tireless efforts and unwavering dedication to advocating for our members. Together, we have achieved a contract that delivers much-needed improvements, ensuring that our transit professionals are recognized and rewarded for their hard work and commitment to serving the public. As we move forward, we are optimistic that this agreement will pave the way for a stronger future for our members and the communities they serve. We encourage all members to review the details of the agreement, once provided, and to participate in the upcoming ratification process.”
“We thank the ATU leadership for their partnership and collaboration throughout these negotiations,” said Michael Kilcoyne, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Bus Operations for NJ Transit. “While this remains a tentative agreement, we deeply value the long-standing relationship we’ve built together with the ATU over the years—a relationship that helped us reach a fair and reasonable outcome.”
NJ Transit-BLET Negotiations
BLET members in April voted down a tentative contract agreement reached between NJ Transit and BLET leadership. The sticking point is wages, according to the union, which has been seeking a new agreement since October 2019, and has been through National Mediation Board-sponsored mediation, as well as two Presidential Emergency Boards with NJ Transit to resolve the dispute. BLET said its NJ Transit locomotive-engineer members “are the lowest paid engineers working in commuter service in the nation.“ According to NJ Transit, “BLET refused to accept the competitive wage and benefits package that all 14 other rail labor unions [at the agency] accepted in 2021.” (Click here for NJ Transit-provided background on the tentative agreement and negotiations.)
“The vote by NJ Transit’s engineers sets the clock ticking for ‘self-help’ where engineers are permitted under the rules of the Railway Labor Act to strike, or the commuter railroad’s management can lock out workers,” BLET reported April 15. “Self-help can begin as soon as May 16 [at 12:01 a.m.]. Turnout was high, 427 of the 460 engineers eligible to vote (93%) cast ballots with 372 voting to reject the agreement (87% opposed ratification).”
Previously, the engineers employed by NJ Transit unanimously voted to grant BLET’s National President Eddie Hall authority to call a strike when allowed by law if a voluntary settlement hadn’t been reached.
A strike or lockout would result in the complete suspension of NJ Transit commuter rail service, including Metro-North Railroad west of Hudson service.
In advance of such a stoppage, NJ Transit on April 30 reported developing a contingency plan that would “accommodate an extremely limited number of rail customers.” The plan includes adding “limited capacity to existing New York commuter bus routes in close proximity to rail stations and contracting with private carriers to operate bus service from key regional Park & Ride locations during weekday peak periods.” NJ Transit said at that time it “strongly encourages all those who can work from home to do so and limit traveling on the NJ Transit system to essential purposes only.”
In developing the contingency plan, NJ Transit said it “focused available resources where demand is greatest—the more than 70,000 New York-bound customers, including customers who transfer from NJ Transit rail to PATH trains at Hoboken Terminal and Newark Penn Station.” NJ Transit estimates that it can carry approximately 20% of current commuter rail customers via other modes, “as the capacity of the bus system cannot replace the railroad.” For complete details, click here.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is also prepared to help Metro-North Railroad’s Port Jervis Line and Pascack Valley Line riders get to and from New York City during any potential disruption of train service. Starting May 12, Metro-North conductors on Hudson Line and Harlem Line trains will honor tickets from stations in Rockland County and Orange County, giving riders the opportunity to create an alternate travel plan. Click here for more information.
“I, along with other NJ Transit engineers, have kept the trains moving but we have gone without a raise since 2019, during a period of high inflation and throughout the pandemic that claimed some of our coworkers,” said Tom Haas, BLET’s General Chairman representing engineers at NJ Transit, in an April 15 statement. “We earn less than our peers at other commuter railroads that share the same platforms … Management has moved in our direction since NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri took over in January, but this vote count [rejecting the tentative agreement] makes it clear, more needs to be done.”
“We will now head back to the bargaining table to try to iron out an agreement that would be acceptable to our members,” BLET Vice President James Louis added. “We want to have uninterrupted rail service for all who depend on it, but we also want to reach a fair agreement for engineers.”
“While the NJ Transit team is doing everything possible to provide alternative travel options in the event of a stoppage, our focus remains on preventing one altogether,” Kris Kolluri said in an April 30 statement. “I have met with union leadership several times and will continue to negotiate in good faith, because a strike isn’t good for employees, and it certainly isn’t good for the 350,000 customers who depend on us every day.”
NJ Transit and BLET were at the bargaining table on May 5, but did not reach an agreement.
The agency on May 9 reported that the National Mediation Board has called both parties to Washington, D.C., to discuss the status of continued bargaining during a Public Interest Meeting.
“I welcome the National Mediation Board’s invitation to resume mediation in Washington on Monday, May 12,” Kris Kolluri said. “I have always said we should avoid a strike and not disrupt the lives of 350,000 riders.”
National Mediation Board Chairman Loren Sweatt; Board Members Linda Puchala and Deirdre Hamilton; General Counsel Maria-Kate Dowling; Director of Mediation Services Christopher Beebe; and Mediator Gerry McGuckin would be in attendance.
During a May 9 press conference, BLET General Chairman Tom Haas said the union will “absolutely” be in Washington, D.C., for the meeting. “I’ve made no secret of the fact that ever since NJ Transit walked away from the bargaining table on Monday [May 5], we absolutely want to continue talking,” he reported. “We want to continue negotiating. We want to work this process out. NJ Transit engineers want to keep the trains moving. But the simple fact is, trains don’t move without engineers.”
The BLET’s members “have agreed to 95% of what NJ Transit demanded,” Haas told reporters. “The only sticking point we have is wages. Every other part of this contract is resolved. We have agreement on it. And when I say we have agreement on it, I mean that we, the locomotive engineers, have agreed to NJ Transit’s demands.”
According to Haas, “the main issue that engineers face is the fact that not only do we have a significant gap in our wage between our wage and the average that every other passenger railroad engineer in the United States makes, but that gap is widening year by year, and … that wage gap is not nearly as large for the other crafts at NJ Transit. It’s the engineers who are falling further and further behind every year.”
The wage increase proposal that BLET gave NJ Transit is 2% more than what the agency had proposed, he said. “They proposed an average increase of just under 3%; our proposal is an average annual increase of just under 5%.”
On May 12, Kris Kolluri issued the following statement after the National Mediation Board meeting with BLET: “We want to thank the National Mediation Board for convening today’s meeting. We found the discussion to be constructive and look forward to continuing negotiations in good faith. To respect the collective bargaining process, we will not be sharing any additional details publicly at this time.”
Railway Age will continue to update this story.
