New Jersey Transit engineers voted overwhelmingly to reject a tentative contract with the railroad, opening the door for a strike as soon as next month.
Leaders of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen reached a tentative agreement with railroad officials last month, but 87% of voting members elected to turn down the deal. Union officials and railroad officials will now have 30 days to reach a new agreement. BLET leaders are authorized to call a strike on May 15, and railroad management can also lock out the engineers on that date.
“For years, we have faced managers who prioritized spending on pet projects including a half-billion dollars for a corporate headquarters with penthouse views, but those same managers couldn’t find an extra dime for their train crews,” said Tom Haas, BLET’s General Chairman. “Management has moved in our direction since NJ Transit President & CEO Kris Kolluri took over in January, but this vote count makes it clear, more needs to be done.”
The disavowal comes a month after Haas joined Kolluri to call the tentative agreement “a fair and fiscally responsible contract settlement.”
The engineers are pushing for a pay increase, as they’ve said their salaries are among the lowest of any commuter engineer group in the country, according to NJ.com.
About 93% of eligible engineers participated in the vote, according to BLET.
The union has been without a contract since 2019, and former President Joe Biden created a pair of presidential boards to review the dispute to stave off a labor stoppage.
The potential work stoppage comes as transit officials hope to avoid a repeat of last year’s “Summer of Hell,” when consistent issues with Amtrak’s overhead wires led to service delays and cancellations that plagued NJ Transit throughout the summer.
Gov. Phil Murphy met with officials from NJ Transit and Amtrak just hours before the result of the union’s vote was announced. The summit included the release of a report highlighting inspection and maintenance efforts that officials hope will make this summer smoother.
Kolluri, the head of NJ Transit, said Tuesday that transit officials will immediately head back to the bargaining table.
“I am disappointed that the tentative agreement was not ratified but respect the outcome of the vote,” he said in a release. “My focus remains on reaching a fair and sustainable agreement that works for everyone and ensures NJ TRANSIT can continue to provide the reliable service our customers count on.”
As the two sides head back to negotiations, the countdown clock to May 15 is ticking.
“NJ Transit riders could be facing another ‘Summer of Hell’ as engineers continue to vote with their feet, leaving NJ Transit for other nearby railroads with significantly higher wages,” the union said.