(Source: CNN, February 14, 2023)
New Jersey Transit, one of the largest commuter rail services in the country, is now facing the same kind of labor problems that nearly brought service on the nation’s freight railroads to a halt last year.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, the union which has been seeking a new contract since the last one’s scheduled end in 2019, says if members don’t get raises of 18% to 23% to match those competing railroads, its 500 members at NJ Transit could be lost to those other railroads. That could cause a shortage of engineers and a reduced train schedule, according to union leadership.
“We don’t want to hurt the riding public. But NJ Transit is adamant they won’t negotiate at all,” said Jim Brown, General Chairman of the New Jersey Transit portion of the BLET “We’ve become a training facility for other railroads. We don’t expect to make more than them. All we’re looking for is parity.”
Full story: CNN