Members of Teamsters Joint Council 73 joined the BLET’s NJ Transit rally on September 30.
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The BLET is continuing to use every legal means necessary to secure a new contract at NJ Transit. On September 30, about 150 BLET members and fellow Teamsters crashed a would-be birthday celebration for NJ Transit at a train stop in Bay Head. The railroad had scheduled a train ride featuring vintage rail cars to mark its 40th anniversary, but as reported by NJ.com, a large throng of BLET members crashed the party. “We’re out here to point out NJ Transit’s hypocrisy,” said General Chairman James Brown. “For 40 years, they’ve been underpaying their engineers. NJ Transit claims they have no money. They’re misleading the public and their employees. But they have $440 million for a new office building. That’s very frustrating for their employees.” In the midst of contract negotiations with the BLET earlier this year, NJ Transit announced that they would spend more than $440 million to lease luxury office space, but have failed to make an acceptable offer to BLET members at the bargaining table. NJ Transit’s locomotive engineers have been seeking a new contract since October 2019. BLET National Vice President Jim Louis said: “Four years without a contract is enough. The men and women who work these trains every day all through COVID-19 are trying to support their families. All they’re asking for is to get paid like other engineers in this area. Plain and simple. NJ Transit just fails to do any type of real negotiations with the union.” A video from the September 30 rally shows NJ Transit CEO Kevin Corbett refusing to speak to the media regarding negotiations.
