On Thursday, November 21, President Biden appointed a second Presidential Emergency Board — PEB No. 252 — to investigate the ongoing years-long collective bargaining dispute between the BLET and New Jersey Transit (NJT). The report of PEB 251, appointed in July, was not acceptable to either party, triggering the President to act and announce the formation of a second PEB.
President Biden has appointed the following members to Emergency Board 252:
• Ira F. Jaffe, Chair
• Sidney Moreland
• Thomas Pontolillo
The contract dispute has been in National Mediation Board (NMB) sponsored mediation for nearly 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.
Pursuant to Section 9(a) of the Railway Labor Act (RLA), which sets forth special procedures for handling disputes at commuter railroads, BLET and NJT are required to submit “final offers for settlement of the dispute” within the next 30 days (on or before December 21, 2024). Then, within 30 days following the submission of final offers, the second PEB is required to submit a report “setting forth its selection of the most reasonable offer” (due on January 20, 2025). According to this Timeline published by the NMB, “status quo” will continue for another 60 days, with parties free to engage in self-help at 12:01 a.m. on March 22, 2025. The second PEB report is not legally binding, but in general, such reports have formed the basis for an agreement.
The rate of pay for locomotive engineers has been a major sticking point. The carrier insists on implementing a pattern-based contract settlement accepted by other rail unions on the property. However, BLET contends that such pattern-based contracts don’t account for two years of specialized training to become an engineer and the knowledge and expertise required to qualify to operate trains. The union maintains that any pattern should be based on what locomotive engineers at other commuter railroads in the region earn and not on other craft unions at NJT.