All Aboard the Drama: New Jersey Transit on the Verge of Major Rail Strike
The New Jersey Transit board on Wednesday night, like, totally pushed the Garden State to the brink of its first major rail strike since, like, forever, adjourning their monthly meeting without cutting a deal with the agency’s locomotive engineer union. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, you know, gave the green light for a strike as early as 12:01 a.m. Friday, which would, like, totally shut down commuter rail service for, like, roughly 100,000 riders. The union’s leadership reached a tentative agreement with NJ Transit last month, but, like, a majority of the roughly 450 rank-and-file members voted it down, you know?
NJ Transit President Kris Kolluri, like, totally said during the meeting that he was “supremely optimistic” a deal would be reached by Friday. He’s been, like, warning New Jersey rail riders for weeks that a strike could be, like, imminent and said they should, like, prepare to work from home. “We reached a deal once before and I think we can do it again,” Kolluri said. “It has to be fair for the employees, but it also has to be fair for the taxpayers and the riders,” you know? Officials, like, said negotiations would, like, resume at 9 a.m. Thursday, so stay tuned for more drama!
A group of locomotive engineers, you know, the ones who drive NJ Transit’s trains, protested outside Wednesday night’s board meeting in heavy rain, noting they’ve worked without a contract since, like, 2019. “We’re a 24 hour-a-day, 365 day-a-year operation,” locomotive engineer Tom Haas said. “Usually, what we tell people when they start is that things like weekends, holidays, your children’s birthdays, baseball games, things like that, you’re gonna miss them,” you know? If a strike, like, begins on Friday, NJ Transit and the MTA have, like, released service alternative plans, including added bus service and cross-honored tickets. Kolluri said commuter trains that are in service when the strike goes into effect at midnight will still continue to their final stop before the crew walks out, so, like, fingers crossed for a resolution soon!
