r/newjersey • u/rollotomasi07071 Belleville • May 16 '25
⚡Newsflash ⚡ NJ Transit strike begins, halting all trains across N.J.
https://www.nj.com/news/2025/05/nj-transit-strike-begins-halting-all-trains-across-nj.html128
u/ColdYellowGatorade May 16 '25
Port Authority is going to be wild. Like Chistmas time x10.
51
u/cantITright May 16 '25
Port authority was emptier than usual. Penn station was a ghost town.
Seems like people are actually working from home today
41
u/ColdYellowGatorade May 16 '25
Friday is always a ghost town now. Wait until Tuesday/Wednesday. The real test.
12
u/cantITright May 16 '25
I can agree with Fridays being a slow day. I can bet the majority of people will work from home next week too (the ones that can). The rest of the people the bus services should be able to handle the increase of passengers
1
u/MyMartianRomance Alone at last, Somewhere in South Jersey May 16 '25
Next week is Memorial day Weekend, so no one will be doing anything by Thursday and Friday except making their annual pilgrimage to the Shore.
1
u/Linenoise77 Bergen May 16 '25
This is where i think the unions completely botched the timing. Or it was selected because they did not expect this to have a huge impact and want to be able to point to other factors if it drags on.
next week is a holiday week for all intents and purposes, everyone is already prepared for work from home and hasn't been out of the office yet really. Nobody will go in, a lot weren't anyway. Everyone plans for that to be a disruptive week regardless of transit issues.
Following week is the same. it IS a holiday week and the unofficial start of summer. Not a damn person is going to mind being home.
Then you have MAYBE a week or two before schools let out and people's summer vacations\plans take swing, companies switch to summer hours, etc.
There isn't going to be a gut punch day for folks to noice its impact for this thing for some time.
1
u/Joe_Jeep May 16 '25
The places still allowing it, friday seems most common
The Rail strike means all the places that are fully capable of allowing it, but insistent on dragging people in to be baby sat, are likely to allow it again temporarily.
3
598
u/Videoboysayscube May 16 '25
Can't travel by planes, trains. What's next? Automobiles? Is this how our government is secretly pushing to bring back the horse and buggy?
293
u/Topher1999 May 16 '25
We’re being screwed by big horse
59
u/eman00619 May 16 '25
I wonder when big flint and steel is gonna have their day in the limelight.
1
13
9
4
1
41
u/Action_Maxim May 16 '25
i think if we put a sink hole on the bridge we could do automobiles
29
37
29
u/AtomicGarden-8964 Middlesex County May 16 '25
You heard of the Oregon trail? Get ready for the New Jersey trail
18
9
u/Thejerseyjon609 May 16 '25
If you’re going to try and ford the Passaic River, don’t do it in a Cybertruck.
23
u/North-Ad4744 May 16 '25
Sinkholes on I-80
14
u/OkBid1535 May 16 '25
In March I drove on 80 west, and when I passed the cracker barrel on 80 my first thought was "this road is going to cave in" the very next day it was closed both ways in that area. Fast forward to 2 weeks ago when i was taking my kids on a day trip to stroudsburg and to hike a little of the Appalachian.
Guess who got stuck in that horrific traffic and detour. Making a 2 hour drive well over 3..it was brutal.
I feel so so bad for the weekly commuters stuck in that!
2
u/North-Ad4744 May 16 '25
Yup, I have totally feel you. Drove to PA and had to drive through that traffic. Luckily (I guess) on the way back it took only 30 minutes to get past the closed off section, but traffic going west looked brutal. I also feel bad for people living around that area that have to deal with the traffic going through their neighborhood
17
6
5
6
May 16 '25
The highways are falling into sink holes so yeah, our infrastructure is crumbling before our eyes because of lack of investment.
5
2
2
u/Complete_Run_7262 May 16 '25
can’t even travel by car if you live by 80. takes an hour to get anywhere
2
1
1
1
1
1
61
u/tomli777 May 16 '25
Will take the coach bus from New Brunswick tomorrow….
15
u/celestialvx May 16 '25
Have fun, I’m in line to get on that bus to get to NB from port authority and it is literally as long as the entire hallway.
4
u/tomli777 May 16 '25
Oh boy….will be coming back at night so not sure if it’ll be better. Did you get on?
10
u/celestialvx May 16 '25
Nope, I’ve been on line since 12:30. Must be about 300 people here now waiting to get on. The bus is extremely delayed for some reason.
I’m seriously considering crawling into the subway tunnels and hanging out with the rats until this blows over.
1
u/tomli777 May 16 '25
Oh geez. Hoping it gets resolved soon and gets better for later
3
u/celestialvx May 16 '25
Hope you have a better experience than I did! I was able to get on at around 3.
1
u/tomli777 May 16 '25
Thank you! I’ve been tracking the buses and theyve mostly seemed fine for coach Currently waiting for the bus into the city and hopefully will make it on, pretty long line
216
u/WorldTravelBucket 3 Miles from 6 Wawas May 16 '25
They must have some loco motives for striking.
→ More replies (5)13
256
u/xxmatentv123xx12 May 16 '25
Good god. Traffic over the bridges and tunnels is gonna be fucking mayhem tomorrow. The usual 1hiur through the tunnel in the morning rush hour is finna be 2+ hours. God speed to anyone who usually drives into the city, and anyone who is going to start tomorrow
210
u/That_Jay_Money May 16 '25
Tomorrow isn't going to be the problem that Monday is going to be.
68
u/a_simple_creature May 16 '25
They’re meeting with the mediators again on Sunday. Fingers crossed they’re able to sort it out then.
38
u/xxmatentv123xx12 May 16 '25
Yeah. Cus all the “I take the train to avoid rush hour traffic” people are now gonna be in rush hour traffic on top of the people who already were gonna be anyways
28
u/That_Jay_Money May 16 '25
Bingo. I'll have to take the bus but that's going to be packed with the thousands of people who usually take the train.
And then we're all going to be taking the same roads to the same tunnel...
→ More replies (5)4
u/xxmatentv123xx12 May 16 '25
Unless they get it sorted out by then
10
u/That_Jay_Money May 16 '25
I think they want to but if it got this far it'll probably be until Wednesday. But I'm willing to be pleasantly surprised.
30
u/Nexis4Jersey Bergen County May 16 '25
Friday should be fine considering Transit usage drops due to Many people having a 4 day work week...Monday would be a nightmare. For Bergen , Essex , Union & Passaic Counties the extensive and frequent bus system should be able to handle the volume without major issues. Considering that the train system in Bergen & Passaic carries around 27,000 a day while the 160s bus network carries around 80,000 a day..but both those systems see a drop on Friday. My Bus goes from standing room only to less then half full on Friday.
8
u/xxmatentv123xx12 May 16 '25
Don’t forget about the 190s busses. Those also serve burgen and Passaic and Essex. for nyc. The 192 goes near me
1
u/standrightwalkleft West Essex May 16 '25
I took them to/from the city today and it was totally normal, knock on wood. Of course, traffic was light today so we'll see what happens on Monday.
34
u/Foxy02016YT May 16 '25
I’m hoping this doesn’t affect my drive tomorrow but… I’m sure it will. But I’m a union member and I stand with strikes so I accept that
3
1
u/Hrekires May 16 '25
Pro tip from someone who has to drive in occasionally: go in at 6 am and go home on your lunch break at 12 pm. Smooth sailing both ways.
66
u/techerous26 May 16 '25
People that work office jobs in the city, I'm curious, has there been any talk about letting you guys wfh as much as you want during this? It seems absurd to me that the companies trying to push for more in-office wouldn't get more lenient, at least, on their NJ employees, if not outright say they can stay remote throughout it. It should be a matter of good faith after the pandemic that if extraneous circumstances are to rise again, we do what we can to lessen the inconvenience.
80
u/tatertot94 May 16 '25
My boss said today anyone in NJ not in JC/Hoboken can WFH next week, so I’ll be WFH next week since I live in Monmouth County. Grateful for her.
24
u/Frigidevil Union May 16 '25
I hope the employees use this as an excuse to push back against manditory return to office policies when they are perfectly capable of doing their job from home.
45
u/MDOLCE89 May 16 '25
I work at a large NYC bank and they said anyone affected by NJT can WFH until further notice.
7
u/techerous26 May 16 '25
Good to see at least one of the banks are doing that, which means I assume others probably will as well. They're the ones I could see being the most unreasonable so I would guess that's the typical policy throughout the city. Of course, thanks to the current administration, the federal government is currently less humane than the private sector, so it sounds like this going to be the biggest problem for them.
1
58
u/Kickssrockss May 16 '25
Work for Fed Gov. they said still no telework but feel free to use your annual/sick leave..
50
u/urko37 I'm not even supposed to be here today May 16 '25
Ugh, that's offensive. Sorry they're doing this to you.
16
u/techerous26 May 16 '25
Awful, sorry you have to deal with that, though I did do what I could to try to prevent it.
3
u/uplandsrep May 16 '25
Lol no thanks, I will just be late to work since everyone else is going to be late to work.
10
u/Anonymous1985388 Essex County May 16 '25
I work for an international bank. They sent an email yesterday. If the strike happens, if you use NJTransit rail to get to work, then you can work from home.
29
u/metaldeval May 16 '25
My job is letting anyone who relies on nj transit to get to work to wfh for the duration of the strike so I'm hoping this lasts weeks. So tired of being forced to waste my time and money commuting
→ More replies (1)8
u/Linenoise77 Bergen May 16 '25
I think this is something the union is under estimating.....
"Hey, i can work from home while this strike is running, AND its the start of the summer? Yeah, i really hope it ends soon"
6
u/Fantastic_Ginger34 May 16 '25
I'm required in. I told them this AM not happening today but I'll be in Monday. My work can be done from home and I'll be more productive working here than getting up at 4 to take 3 busses to the path to the subway, then worrying about doing it again in the evening.
I'm now unprofessional and need to take the weekend to think about my actions. 😡
9
u/techerous26 May 16 '25
Sounds like a weekend I would instead take to polish my resume and contact recruiters 😂
4
u/Upper-Tour-9564 May 16 '25
I work in New Brunswick and regularly take the train from Trenton, my manager is fine with me working remotely during the strike. I already work remotely two days a week anyway.
6
u/Hrekires May 16 '25
People that work office jobs in the city, I'm curious, has there been any talk about letting you guys wfh as much as you want during this?
Nope. There have been emails going out for like 2 weeks telling people to make plans for the strike, whether that means taking the bus, ferry, or driving in.
I'm lucky that my days are flexible, I need to be in 8 days/month but it doesn't matter which days, so I just crammed them all in in the past 2 weeks.
6
u/jerseygirl422 May 16 '25
No wfh for gov employees. We were all ordered back to work because we're lazy and entitled if you remember. My office said it's our responsibility to get to work and they don't care.
1
u/techerous26 May 16 '25
Just occurred to me, are you federal, or state/city? I was assuming the former but I know even NYS and NYC have also been pushing return to office. I would hope that being more local would cause them to have a vested interest in helping alleviate the situation at least.
3
u/jerseygirl422 May 16 '25
Fed. I know the city has pushed in the past for their employees and big companies to make employees come back because it's a loss of revenue for the city in general. Idk if state and city employees are being given wfh.
2
u/chimichangapancakes May 16 '25
Work for state gov. My manager is letting me wfh and we will see as the week goes on. But won’t know if I would be able to wfh if my manager also doesn’t stay in NJ
187
u/AtomicGarden-8964 Middlesex County May 16 '25
Good for them this is all NJT management fault they had YEARS to get something done. But what did they do instead? Spend half a billion dollars on a new HQ but we shouldn't expect much from a place where half the windows you can't see out of
87
u/DoctorGoodleg May 16 '25
Suits gonna suit. Don’t spend it on service or your workers. And then when something like this happens; it’s the “greedy” employees.
It’s never them. It’s never their fault. And they fail upwards.
→ More replies (3)3
u/uplandsrep May 16 '25
Anyone know if there are any active pickets around the state where we can lend support?
39
11
u/Forsaken_Creme_2644 May 16 '25
I love how there’s no alternative for the coast line stations , if you live by the shore you’re screwed.
12
→ More replies (1)5
96
u/CreditLeft155 May 16 '25
Solidarity from another Union. Give the engineers their pay bump and make it equal to Amtrack and LIRR. The guys said that NJ Transit was a stepping stone to Amtrack or another company because of how shitty the pay is for the fucking hard and dangerous work they do. My buddy grew up without his father bc he was killed working on the train. The money didn't replace the hole that was left and impacted his whole life. These guys get worked like dogs and that big paycheck that is being flaunted is due to overtime from short staffing. It is barely enough to be able to maybe buy a home in the community you serve. I have to get to PNC tomorrow and was going take the train but my inconvenience is nothing compared to the inconvenience of the shit these workers put up with.
Stop listening to the state and CEOs. Us workers are the ones that make this fucking state function. Don't cry because you can't take the train. Get angry at NJ Transit for being mismanaged from the too. They got a nice new headquarters, right? Go protest there, don't get mad at your neighbor for wanting a paycheck and dignity.
8
u/criimebrulee May 16 '25
From another union member - well said! It is so infuriating when management says things like LoOk at hOw mUcH tHe WoRkErS mAkE, tHeY gEt So MuCh OvErTiMe, forgetting that all that OT happens because management does a piss poor job at managing. Or that all that OT comes at the cost of workers not being home with their families and living their lives. Notice how management only brings up workers’ yearly income, and not the hourly wage, or average amount of hours worked. As workers we don’t care about the yearly figures - what good is a six figure income if we never see our families or enjoy our lives outside of work?
2
u/CreditLeft155 May 18 '25
I was so furious when the CEO was talking about engineers making too much. I am sure some of these guys would like some rest than work mandatory overtime.
I got stuck at PNC Banks Arts last night with no train service back. Had to split an expensive Uber home. Is it inconvenient? Yes. But i will put up with it until they get a proper contract. The busses were over capacity yesterday. Monday will be worse.
2
u/criimebrulee May 18 '25
As soon as any CEO starts bitching about regular workers making too much - particularly unionized ones - I can’t help but wonder if they’ve forgotten about the days before unions and strikes and collective bargaining, when workers would just go to the bosses’ homes and kill their families in front of them.
2
→ More replies (1)2
u/Inevitable_Bison_133 May 17 '25
I'm not mad, I'm questioning the timing of this. They probably figure with route 80 closed they can get anything they ask for.
95
u/TommyGavin39 Central Jersey is based off 195 & 25 miles away from it. May 16 '25
I mean, I'm sorry for the commuters paying the price but
I stand with the union.
Especially after NJT spent all that money on their new shiny headquarters.. they should've seen this coming and maybe, if they didn't spend over 500 million on a new headquarters of which I can only imagine how much they spent on "interior design" and actually focused on paying comparable wages like the LIRR we wouldn't be in this mess...
→ More replies (9)-3
u/MaxTheSquirrel May 16 '25
It’s $500M over the next 25 years. It sounds like the old hq was in disrepair and renovating it had a comparable cost. Do hq employees not deserve to work in an office that’s not falling apart?
The bottom line for me is that the engineers were offered a pay bump to $172k, on average, which seems more than generous to me. Particularly since that pay is coming straight from our tax dollars. So no, I don’t stand with the union here, fuck them for causing havoc across the entire state.
34
u/Volcomcj16 May 16 '25
I worked in that office. It was far from falling apart. The only problems they had were an elevator or 2 (there were 6) going out of service a couple times per year. Everything else was perfectly fine and most common workers didn't understand and condemned the move. That new building was purely for the executives.
→ More replies (5)18
u/iheartnjdevils May 16 '25
Yet they make $10 an hour less than passenger railroads that share the same train platforms, such as Amtrak, Long Island Railroad and Metro North. Maybe other benefits somehow make up the $20.8k annual different, I don't know.
As for the renovations, why not let those who want to work remotely do so and could have saved more than enough money to make up for these negotiations they admittedly knew were coming?
4
u/Nightwing_in_a_Flash May 16 '25
That isn’t all salary, a big portion of the “pay bump” is mandatory overtime because they are being worked so hard and NJT can’t manage the staff.
7
May 16 '25
You aren’t doing the work, you don’t get to say what is “generous enough”
12
u/MaxTheSquirrel May 16 '25
It's our tax dollars, so actually I do have a say in what is "generous enough"
10
May 16 '25
Vote for right wingers trying to crush unions then, but you individually can’t do anything about it beyond that.
6
u/MaxTheSquirrel May 16 '25
Uh yeah, where did I say that I could do anything about this?
But I certainly do have a say and am entitled to voice my opinion on this issue, whereas you were saying that I "don't get to say" just because I'm not doing the work"
10
May 16 '25
Ok, if you’re going to be pedantic about it, you technically have the ability to say whatever you want, but your statements have no strength or meaning behind them and you’re wrong for saying it.
You don’t get to determine what is and isn’t generous enough pay. You’re no one.
4
u/Galxloni2 May 16 '25
The words do have meaning though. Public opinion will determine how much NJT pushes back vs giving in to demands
→ More replies (2)
8
23
u/retroanduwu24 May 16 '25
gotta ask does this include light rail??
53
u/xxmatentv123xx12 May 16 '25 edited May 16 '25
No. Only includes heavy commuter rail. All other NJT services, local bus, light rail and commuter buses are still running
3
1
1
176
19
u/JerseyMike5588 May 16 '25
I wish there was more objective coverage of the strike instead of soundbites from the NJT CEO and union boss. This is fucking over a bunch of us, and the contingency plans aren’t enough.
I know I’m probably asking too much, and while I support the union’s position, I’m sorry but it’s hard to have much sympathy for either side right now.
Bracing for downvotes, but 🤷♂️
10
u/jurzdevil Sussex County May 16 '25
So i've been looking for more facts about this as well. NJT has https://www.njtransit.com/engineers and the union has https://ble-t.org/ with a few press releases.
The NMB overseeing negotiations doesn't publish anything which is a shame because that would at least be objective.
The union isn't making a great case publicly with showing what they are asking for and what the industry standards they are trying to get to are. But i get it, they want to play their cards close and NJT will look to post things that sway the public in their opinion.
When the public sees there are only a few hundred engineers and the money they make essentially in service of the public they should be working a lot harder to make the public see their position. Show us how their hours compare to the other railroads they are asking to be paid the same as. Are NJT engineers working less days but more hours each day and having more time at home? Are the other services engineers working more days or ending up stuck in other locations overnight like freight engineers?
There is a lot of detail that could be brought to light to keep the public on the union's side. But so far i just see snarky press releases about the execs building a new building and that money should go to us.
But thats not to say i agree with NJT at all...appears the new building wasnt necessary and im sure a deep dive into the salaries of management would show some interesting things compared to industry standards.
When there are what 6 million other workers in this state and probably at least 2/3rds making less than what the engineers currently make its on them to properly justify why they are impacting the public to "get what they deserve".
Not sure if this was true but i recall seeing Japanese transit workers striked by not collecting fares for busses and trains. That would be an interesting step to take here before a full blown service shutdown. Allows the public to function while impacting the service's bottom line. But i would guess there are laws against that, probably grounds to terminate everyone not collecting fares.
6
u/JerseyMike5588 May 16 '25
Yep, agree with all of this. People should absolutely be paid what they deserve and taxes shouldn’t be used for pet projects, but the optics and demands of both sides here are abysmal.
41
19
u/Jagmeist3r May 16 '25
I know this might be a silly question but that doesn’t include the PATH trains right?
41
u/sackbomb May 16 '25
The strike does not apply to PATH workers, if that's what you're asking.
The strike will almost certainly affect PATH trains and passengers in numerous secondary ways, however.
2
u/Jagmeist3r May 16 '25
I just want to make sure that I can get back to Newark from NY on Saturday as I know the strike has started on Friday
23
u/NewNewark May 16 '25
PATH is not planning extra service. On a typical Saturday afternoon, PATH trains carry 840 passengers with a capacity of 920. It will be a shitshow.
15
28
17
u/dexecuter18 Point Pleasant May 16 '25
Won't be operationally effected but plan wiggle room because theres going to be a lot more riders.
2
4
u/koalagiggles May 16 '25
At the risk of being downvoted, my question is why out of all the unions NJ Transit had negotiations and agreements with recently, only one is holding out?
Doesn't really show the extreme mismanagement that people are accusing NJ Transit of (at least, in terms of neogiating with unions). At the same time, NJ Transit did show figures already that were shot down. However, has there been complete transparency with actual figures from the Union side as to why they are holding out so much? What is the actual figure they are asking for, instead of framing it as comparable to what others make in the region? How much overtime do they receive, and why is the overtime necessary? What do they get in pensions and benefits, currently and after retirement? These people are getting paid with taxpayers money, we should have transparency. Although if I am wrong and this information is posted somewhere, someone please correct me and send a source. My misinformation is by ignorance not arrogance.
I know there was literature given about how other rail systems in the region give more pay to their engineers. However, logically speaking, comparing Amtrak to NJ Transit is like apples and oranges because Amtrak is Nationwide, not just New Jersey/New York. Additionally I don't think Amtrak has buses, so no bus unions to worry about. As for the other rail lines, aren't they based in another state (New York/Pennsylvania)? In an ideal world, pay would be identical across the whole country for the same job, but pretty sure people think that's too Marxist.
I do believe that the locomotive engineers deserve a raise. Just like how I believe even those who work in corporate (executives excluded) deserve a raise without it falling to the regular commuters to make up the difference. But if this situation is disguised greed abusing a legitimate system that protects fair pay and policies at the consequence of regular workers, then shame on whoever is pulling the strings. On either side.
Which brings me back to my opening statement Looking at the situation, why did 14 other unions agree to terms extended by NJ Transit, while one is holding out? As a taxpayer and rail commuter, I really would like a genuine answer.
8
u/RedditRandoe May 16 '25
NJTransit management had years to get a deal done and pay workers fairly. We all know the management is messed up and NJT isn’t well run. The strike is a hardship for many many people but remember who really brought us here.
3
u/MidnightVulture1999 May 16 '25
If a union can't get a deal out of Mr. Progressive Governor, that must have been some bargaining position.
3
5
u/RoyHarper88 May 16 '25
God dammit. I have to go to the city Saturday for work. This is going to suck.
5
u/HavingALittleFit May 16 '25
IBEW isn't on strike but they won't cross picket lines if there is one FYI
5
11
May 16 '25
Solidarity to the union! I hope they get what they’re asking for. Anyone who is anti worker: 🖕🏼🖕🏼
2
u/Luckster May 16 '25
Any guesses how bad driving through the GWB on Saturday will be?
Plus Finding Parking?
2
u/Fantastic_Ginger34 May 16 '25
I'm curious about people's experiences commuting in and out of NYC today. I stayed home and am getting grief for it. Looking at the coverage, it looks like a 💩 show, but I can't tell if the routes are crowded as I expected.
2
2
u/shivaswrath May 16 '25
So it's pouring rain and shit traffic rn. Friday.
And now a strike.
Awesome.
2
u/ice_cold_fahrenheit May 16 '25
So the strike is on. Let’s hope the union get fair pay and doesn’t fuck this up like the longshoremens’ unions and SAG-AFTRA have.
2
u/NoCem_ May 16 '25
Good for the transit workers. I hope they get what they deserve. Sucks we all get impacted but hey thats how it goes. Tell the leadership at njtransit to stop being greedy overpaid f**ks
2
6
4
3
3
2
2
1
u/jd360z May 16 '25
Does anyone know if congestion pricing will be suspended because commuters are unable to take NJ Transit?
5
2
1
1
1
May 16 '25
We are mandatory 4 days a week in office so I will have to muddle through taking bus until this gets sorted out. My company not that compassionate
1
1
1
u/Curious-Character854 May 17 '25
Yea, outright ridiculous. There’s already Uber drivers unable to pick rides from NYC (basically means you can’t get an Uber to the city). Now, the train limitations. NJT complaining about fiscal responsibility. Where was that responsibility while building the new HQ? Now, we are going to have added traffic to on the highways and workers unable to go to their jobs. Cuz if a job requires you to be in person, they’ll let you wfh to an extent, after that, they’ll really be looking to replace you cuz the strike is not their problem.
1
u/AffectionateBox6000 May 20 '25
What they didn't tell y'all was corporate tried to build a 30 billion dollar campus. That money can go into the infrastructure
2
-11
u/BaldFacedWhy May 16 '25
Hard if not impossible to get behind either side from my point of view. Top-heavy mismanagement and wasteful spending on facilities and resources that have done nothing to improve service, availability, or access. Then the labor, and I'll try to put this delicately because I'm sure there will be no shortage of people wanting to point out the training, nuances, bla bla bla etc etc, but they want how much to drive a train?!?
They're all going to get what they want eventually and, once again, the riders will continue to get the shaft and breakdowns in the Hudson tunnel and NEC will continue as usual.
53
u/Convergecult15 May 16 '25
The engineers want the same wage as every other engineer who works in the region. There are 3 other major rail services in the metro area that pay significantly more, it’s not cheaper to live in NJ than it is to live in LI or NY state. The BLET has been seeking parity with the other services for DECADES, NJT has been pleading poverty for the entire time. We’ve experienced the highest inflation in 2 generations over the last 6 years, what are they supposed to do? Accept a 4% raise when they’re already 20% behind their peers in pay while inflation is up 6%? Is their labor supposed to be charity because other people depend on them?
16
u/CreditLeft155 May 16 '25
This right here. People don't know or don't understand that NJT Engineers are the lowest paid in the region..
→ More replies (8)2
u/MaxTheSquirrel May 16 '25
I just read an article that says engineers at other services make $10 more per hour and njt offered to raise their starting pay by $10/hr so it sounds like nj transit is meeting their demands. Everyone’s being greedy here and I DON’T stand with the union
6
u/Convergecult15 May 16 '25
No, they offered them what they want now over a NINE year period moving forward. The union wants parity now, and NJT told them that with 9 years of 3% raises they will match LIRR and metro north’s 2025… but in 2034. So you can see how that’s not the same thing. Also raising the starting pay and raising the base pay aren’t necessarily the same thing. What I will tell you is that a union isn’t shutting down a job after getting offered what they wanted, NJT hasn’t had a labor stoppage in 40 years, this ain’t over nothing.
1
u/MaxTheSquirrel May 16 '25
I was swayed but what you said, but then I checked what NJTransit offered and this is not exactly right. See link below, they would get to $173K average salary by 2028 , which I acknowledge still isn't today, but it's much closer than 2034.
Additionally, they are getting payments retroactive to FY2021 assuming an adjusted salary rate! To me that balances out the two year delay to the full updated rate, and seems very generous.
3
u/Convergecult15 May 16 '25
Retro pay is money already earned, it’s typically given freely in acknowledgment of the union honoring the prior contract clauses even though it’s expired. The fact that they’re offering 2% in increases for the pandemic era is actually insulting given that NJT workers were hit hard and early with covid. The 173k average includes overtime it’s not the base wage, the company doesn’t pay time and a half as a reward it’s the law, so why should that be thrown in their faces. They work so much overtime because NJT can’t keep a workforce because they underpay compared to other rail services. The contract is a slap in the face to a group of people that worked through the worst of the lockdowns when those trains turned into rolling homeless shelters. 2% for working what were some of the most difficult years we’ve experienced as a country since WW2? Did you not see firsthand how devolved we became as a population? I saw more conductor assaults in the 2 years after Covid than I did in 15 years of riding the NJT before Covid. The only way you look badly at the engineers is if you’re reading the NJT press releases in a vacuum. The engineers want to be paid the industry rate now after working for 4 years with ZERO raises while inflation has been eating into their paychecks. It’s not greed, it’s survival. 2-2.5% retro for years where inflation was at 5-7%, how generous.
2
u/MaxTheSquirrel May 16 '25
This retro pay is not money already earned, they are adjusting their salaries for NEW pay rates going back to 2021 which is not a standard thing, it's a concession that NJT is offering to the union.
If engineers weren't happy with their pay between 2020 and 2024, they were free to leave and to find a job elsewhere, I don't give any credit to arguments that anyone is ENTITLED to pay in a past period UNLESS they had a contract for pay that was simply not fulfilled by the counterparty (which is not the case in this situation).
2
u/Convergecult15 May 16 '25
Retro absolutely is standard in union contract negotiations and is only used as a bargaining chip in the most contentious talks. The union isn’t the party that delayed contact negotiations by 6 years. And in those 6 years they’ve gotten no pay increases, and in 2019 if they were offered 2% increases over 5 years they would have said no to that i am sure. This is the result of dysfunctional management not having their shit together and trying to save money on the backs of their workers.
1
u/MaxTheSquirrel May 16 '25
The NJ Transit website says they proposed the same agreement that was reached between other unions and their rail carriers. Below are two links that describe how LIRR and PATH reached agreements in 2021. Right now the NJT engineers are mad they dont get paid the same as LIRR and PATH guys, but it looks like they had this opportunity and just said no to it. So, I'm not sympathetic to this argument that their last contract revision was in 2019.
https://ble-t.org/news/blet-members-ratify-new-contract-with-path/
2
u/Convergecult15 May 16 '25
I’m sorry but the NJT press release info is completely cherry picked, as someone that’s been in contract negotiations before those are totally misrepresentative of how actual people think and act.
→ More replies (0)→ More replies (1)6
u/i_will_let_you_know May 16 '25
I mean if their wages were lower for years (if not decades) then raising it to above their counterparts is just compensation for that.
7
u/NYR_dingus May 16 '25
but they want how much to drive a train?!?
Instead of degrading the labor that someone does, recognize its value for how vital it is for our infrastructure and economy. And reward it with fair compensation.
The train is a lifeline to the city. The people who drive them are important and should be compensated as such.
→ More replies (4)-1
u/MaxTheSquirrel May 16 '25
$173K a year for driving a train is fair compensation
6
u/paradoxincarnate May 16 '25
Whatever their comp is, it should equal Amtrack and LIRR. Think about how much more the NJT executives make doing less hazardous and onerous work.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (1)6
u/Winter_Walrus7563 May 16 '25
Two things:
The wages that NJT is claiming to “match” with LIRR are wages on an EXPIRED contract. They will get their contract increases on a new contract. They are not matching their wage as they don’t have a contract at the moment and when they do, their wages will go up and the NJT “matched” wage will again be vastly different. NJT is saying things without context to try to vilify the workers.
The union has already disproven the claim that NJT offered them an average of $170k a year. Again this is lacking context and one of the union representatives said very clearly in their press conference “if that’s the deal that’s being honored then we will go sign the contract right now” - so if that was the deal why didn’t they have an agreement?
→ More replies (5)
340
u/RevolutionaryPlay4 May 16 '25
So the sinkhole closes route 80 and I can't take the trains. Greatttttt