Republican lawmakers want to talk with NJ Transit rail union amid strike vote

New Jersey's Republican leaders are calling on the union that represents NJ Transit's locomotive engineers to meet with them in advance of a vote expected to take place later this month that could authorize a strike.

State Sen. Anthony Bucco and Assemblyman John DiMaio, the minority leaders of their respective chambers, penned a letter urging them to meet with the lawmakers to discuss "our mutual concerns."

"Locomotive engineers are critical to New Jersey’s transit infrastructure, and they deserve a safe working environment and fair and just wages for the vital services they provide," the lawmakers wrote. "Assuring riders that the quality of the services they rely on to commute to work or visit loved ones will remain consistent and affordable is extremely important, as is their safety and security."

Tension over the contract for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, which expired in 2020, has risen steadily in recent months. Engineers hoisted signs and demonstrated in front of NJ Transit's headquarters before a board meeting in May, drawing attention to their calls for better salaries.

Engineers will begin receiving ballots this week asking them to vote on whether they favor a strike, with the ballots due by Aug. 31.

“I am confident that 100% of the ballots returned will be in favor of striking NJ Transit,” said Edward Hall, national president of the BLET. “We will be one step closer to 'self-help' once the ballots are counted later this month and just prior to the Labor Day weekend. I want to stress that BLET shall comply with the rules of the Railway Labor Act. However, once released by the National Mediation Board, we will be ready to act. What we really want is a fair contract for engineers and to ensure uninterrupted train services for passengers.”

Even with 'yes' vote, strike not imminent

Even if the locomotive engineers get the majority votes to approve a strike, it likely isn't imminent.

First, the engineers are bound by a court order preventing them from any illegal job actions due to a walkout that took place last year, in which hundreds of NJ Transit's locomotive engineers stayed away from work for three days until the agency sued and a judge forced them to return. This caused hundreds of trains to be canceled and led to significant disruptions for customers throughout the Juneteenth holiday weekend. The national union agreed to pay $50,000 to settle the matter, but court processes involving the local chapter are continuing.

Also, federal law requires extensive mediation, "cooling-off" periods and potential presidential emergency board involvement during unresolved contract negotiations with rail workers. In short, the soonest a strike could happen — if the union members authorize it — is likely in 270 days.

"We have made a fair and pattern-based contract offer that has been accepted and ratified by 14 of our 15 rail unions covering 91% of our rail union employees," NJ Transit spokesman Kyalo Mulumba said. "The BLET is the only union not to accept these terms."

Pay commensurate with nearby agencies

The "pattern-based contract" Mulumba is referring to is an increase in salary that is consistent with the percentage-rate increase in raises offered to other unions represented at NJ Transit. But what the BLET is seeking is pay commensurate with what other nearby agencies offer their locomotive engineers.

The engineers' biggest chant over this matter has been "Millions for penthouse views, but not a dime for train crews," referring to a recent 25-year lease NJ Transit signed for more than $440 million at the nearby 2 Gateway building in Newark. The deal has been the subject of scrutiny over whether alternative, cheaper options should have been considered, given the agency's gloomy fiscal forecast in which a $120 million deficit is expected next year and a nearly $1 billion budget gap the year after that.

This is one of the "mutual concerns" lawmakers said they also have with the union, about how that lease deal could affect the agency's budget as it prepares for potential fare hikes, service cuts and layoffs, as well as the contract negotiation.

"This is just another layer of bad planning by NJ Transit that potentially could affect our ridership either through increased fares or now a strike," Bucco said. "We need to make sure these engineers are paid a fair wage and can operate safely in their jobs, because without that we’re not going to have trains that are on time and we’re going to go back to the situation we had a number of years ago when lines were being canceled, trains were late and it disrupted peoples' lives."

Gov. Phil Murphy and Kevin Corbett, whom he tapped to lead NJ Transit in 2018, have spent years working to fill the ranks of locomotive engineers after their numbers were depleted during the Christie administration. That void of workers was for a time the top reason for canceling trains while new engineers got hired and trained.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: GOP lawmakers to talk with NJ Transit union amid strike vote