“…fair and acceptable.” Deal ends five-year contract battle.
Voting concluded today for members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) for a new collective bargaining agreement with NJ Transit (NJT), the nation’s third largest commuter railroad. BLET members at NJT voted to accept a tentative agreement reached with the commuter railroad’s management on May 18, ending a contract battle that stretched five years and included a three-day strike that shut down the railroad last month.
The seven-year agreement, covering the years 2020-2027, addresses rates of pay and other issues for the 450 NJT locomotive engineers employed by the transit agency.
A high percentage of eligible BLET members participated in the ratification vote. Eighty-nine percent of BLET members cast ballots, with 398 voting in favor (95%) and 21 voting against (5%).
Highlights of the new agreement include a significant pay raise for engineers who were, until now, the lowest paid engineers working for a major commuter railroad in the United States. NJ Transit’s engineers had not seen a raise in pay since 2020 despite a spike in inflation. In addition to a pay increase that will raise hourly wages to over $50 per hour, locomotive engineers will also receive retroactive wages and a signing bonus.
“This is a member-driven union,” said BLET National President Mark Wallace. “Our members told us through an earlier vote that they wanted parity with engineers at Amtrak and other passenger railroads that share the same train platforms. Prior to that vote, engineers voted unanimously to strike when allowed under the rules of the Railway Labor Act, if a voluntary agreement couldn’t be reached. Now, through this vote, our members have told us that the terms agreed to are both fair and acceptable.”
The agreement ratified by the union today will be voted on by NJT’s board at their regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday, June 11.
In addition to ending years of difficult negotiations that included mediation by the federal National Mediation Board, two Presidential Emergency Boards, and the first strike at the railroad in 42 years, the new agreement should help NJT both recruit and retain locomotive engineers.
In recent months, the number of engineers employed by NJT has shrunk from nearly 500 to 450 today, as NJT’s locomotive engineers have left for better pay at other railroads. It takes two years and costs approximately $250,000 to train someone to replace an engineer who has left for work elsewhere or retired.
“All along we’ve said we didn’t want to be the highest paid engineers, we only wanted equal pay for equal work,” said Tom Haas, who works as an NJT engineer and serves as BLET’s General Chairman at the commuter railroad. “This agreement brings us close to what our peers make for doing the same type of work with the same levels of experience and training.” Added Haas, “This agreement gives us the pay raises we needed, but also was done without a major hit to NJT’s budget and should not require a fare hike for passengers.”
Photo: Jason Burke