New Jersey Transit workers, they decided to take a little stroll off the job as of 12:01 Friday morning. This strike, it could end up being quite a big deal for transportation in the state, like, in a really long time. The Union members, they’re saying that NJ Transit’s whole rail service, which is used by 170,000 weekday riders, it’s gonna be offline because the agency and Gov. Phil Murphy couldn’t make a deal with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. Garden State transit officials, they’re telling commuters to get ready for some chaos, suggesting they work from home if they can on Friday.
The labor action, it shouldn’t really mess with NJ Transit’s bus service. PATH and Amtrak, they’re still chugging along in New Jersey. Coach buses and ferries, they’re gonna be the only other mass transit options between New Jersey and Manhattan. But, like, officials are saying all the other ways to get around, they’re probably gonna be super packed because of the strike. The leaders of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, they actually reached a tentative deal with agency officials last month. But, the union’s about 450 members, they voted against it, setting up this whole strike situation for Friday. The workers, they’re saying the offer didn’t have a big enough pay raise, mentioning they haven’t had a raise since their last contract expired in 2019.
Mark Wallace, the head of the union, he’s accusing the state transit agency of spending too much on “pet projects” and perks for management, and not enough on the engineers. “Enough is enough,” Wallace said in a statement. “We’re gonna keep out here until our members get the fair pay they deserve.” NJ Transit President Kris Kolluri, he kept saying he wouldn’t agree to a deal that would mess up the agency’s money situation. Murphy, he was standing there with Kolluri on Friday night, talking about how the agency’s finances are super important. “NJ Transit, it’s looking at a pretty serious cash situation,” Murphy said at a news conference. “We gotta figure out how to balance that.” So, yeah, it looks like things are gonna be a bit chaotic for a while with this strike going on.
