The BLET has rejected a non-binding decision announced last week by Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) No. 252, assigned to the long-running dispute between BLET and New Jersey Transit (NJT). Rejection of the PEB’s recommendation triggers a 60-day cooling off period, mandated by the Railway Labor Act, and sets the clock ticking for “self-help.” If a settlement is not voluntarily reached, locomotive engineers could strike or NJT could lock-out workers as soon as 12:01 a.m. on March 22, unless blocked by President Trump.
BLET General Chairman Tom Haas said engineers are fed up with low pay and disrespectful treatment by managers. They are also disillusioned by the railroad’s misplaced priorities, which include spending a half-billion dollars for lavish office space while not treating engineers fairly. The 494 BLET members employed by NJT have unanimously voted to grant BLET’s National President Eddie Hall authority to call a strike when allowed. Haas was quoted in a January 21 story published by NorthJersey.com, one of the larger media outlets in all of New Jersey: “Trains don’t move without engineers. Right now, our folks can walk across the platform and get paid at the very least ten dollars more per hour at any of the other railroads we interact with.”
President Hall said there is still a chance for a voluntary settlement after a shakeup with NJT’s top management. “We hope that the new guard, under the direction of NJ Transit President & CEO Kris Kolluri, will choose to avoid a disruption in service by meeting with the union and working out a fair agreement that will keep the trains moving,” Hall said.
The contract dispute was in NMB-sponsored mediation for three years. NJT’s locomotive engineers have been seeking a new labor agreement since October 2019. NJT’s engineers are the lowest paid engineers working in commuter service in the nation.