The first statewide transit strike in New Jersey in more than 40 years left a fleet of passenger trains parked in rail yards and thousands of commuters stranded, annoyed and bewildered Friday morning.
The strike followed months of negotiations between New Jersey Transit, the nation’s third-largest commuter rail network, and the union that represents train drivers, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. Union members began picketing at stations on Friday after contract talks broke down late Thursday night.
State officials said they hoped to resume negotiations with the union over the weekend so that the strike would end before Monday.
Gov. Philip D. Murphy apologized to commuters whose trips had been disrupted and blamed union leaders for refusing to accept an offer that he said was fair to their members and fiscally responsible for the state.
“It is frankly a mess of their own making and it is a slap in the face of every commuter and worker who relies on NJ Transit,” Mr. Murphy, a Democrat, said at a news conference in Aberdeen, N.J.
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New Jersey Transit Strike Leaves Commuters Scrambling
New Jersey’s commuter rail engineers walked off the job early on Friday after contract talks failed to meet the union’s wage demands, leaving thousands of commuters to seek other means of transportation to and from work.
“What do we want?” “Contract.” “When do we want it?” “Now.” “What do we want?” “Contract.” “When do we want it?” “Now.” “Who are we?” “Locomotive engineers.” “We’ve been working without a contract for over almost six years. They’ve not had a pay raise in six years. So they worked through Covid. They worked through the worst inflationary period in my lifetime without a pay raise. And all they’re asking is to be treated fairly.” “At this moment, 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. A deal that provides NJ Transit’s employees, including our locomotive engineers, the wages and benefits they deserve without being forced to raise costs on riders, commuters and taxpayers.”
New Jersey’s commuter rail engineers walked off the job early on Friday after contract talks failed to meet the union’s wage demands, leaving thousands of commuters to seek other means of transportation to and from work.CreditCredit…Dave Sanders for The New York Times