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New Jersey Transit and the union representing its rail engineers will have more time to try work out a labor dispute under an executive order signed by President Joe Biden.
The White House said in a statement last week that the president authorized the creation of a Presidential Emergency Board aimed at helping the state's transit agency and Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen resolve disputes over a labor agreement.
New Jersey Transit operates buses and rail in the state.
The contract covering nearly 500 engineers expired in December 2019. Their union, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, has since sought significant salary increases to bring their pay on par with that of their Metro-North Railroad and the Long Island Rail Road colleagues.
The union says the engineers are the nation’s lowest paid in commuter service.
“This labor dispute has dragged on for far too long, but we will respect the process established by the Railway Labor Act,” BLET’s national president, Eddie Hall, said in a statement following Biden’s executive order. “NJT has nearly a half-billion dollars for lavish new office space, they recently raised fares by 15 percent. Meanwhile, they haven’t offered their engineers competitive wages with other passenger railroads. It’s time for NJT to make a fair offer and settle this dispute voluntarily. Otherwise, our members will be walking picket lines rather than operating trains.”
In an emailed statement, NJ Transit said it would be March 2025 before any strike could occur after the White House's action.
The president's action was required under law because one of the parties requested it, according to the White House. The announcement heads off the potential for a strike for now.
Within two months, the board will get settlement dispute offers from both sides and then write to the president selecting an offer deemed to be most reasonable, according to the White House. The report isn't binding, but the party whose offer is not selected would be prohibited by law from receiving certain benefits if there's a strike, the White House said.
— Associated Press and Richard Khavkine
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