(The following story by Tom Davis appeared on The Record website on May 4, 2010. Rich Darcy is General Chairman of the BLET’s NJ Transit General Committee of Adjustment.)
BERGEN, N.J. — NJ Transit officials are talking with unions representing 2,000 rail workers about identifying additional “cost savings” to help plug a $300 million hole in the agency’s budget, agency and union officials said Tuesday.
Those talks involve NJ Transit’s request to eliminate or defer a 3 percent salary hike in fiscal year 2011, a union official said.
At least one union representing 400 rail workers says it won’t agree to go without a pay increase.
“We haven’t even kept up with the rate of inflation,” said Rich Darcy general chairman from the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. “We just paid more for health insurance costs.”
NJ Transit officials asked for “shared sacrifice” from rail workers three days after 10 to 25 percent bus and rail fare hikes went into effect.
NJ Transit spokeswoman Penny Bassett Hackett said the agency’s bus unions and administrative employees have already agreed to a pay freeze and a benefits cut this year.
“This is part of our ongoing discussions with our employees to identify cost savings,” she Tuesday.
Darcy, however, said NJ Transit’s labor relations representatives called him Tuesday and said they were looking for additional money because the fare hikes didn’t go far enough.
Before the increases went into effect, NJ Transit scaled back a 25 percent bus and light rail fare hike to 10 percent, citing concerns raised by users of both services.
Darcy said his union has no plans to help the agency make up the difference.
“We’re men and women of this state, like everybody else,” he said. “Just like everybody else, we’re trying to get by.”
NJ Transit officials declined to address his statements.
Darcy said NJ Transit wants to re-open collective bargaining on a 7-year contact with his union that’s set to expire in July 2011. The contract was extended three years in 2008.
“We don’t get big raises,” he said. “Considering the rate of inflation, this is going backwards.”
Daniel O’Connell, legislative director for the United Transportation Union, said he had not received any word of NJ Transit’s intentions, saying, “This is the first I’ve ever heard of it.”
“It was our understanding that the fare hikes would cover the budget deficit,” said O’Connell, whose union represents about 1,400 rail workers.