NEWARK, N.J. — The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen is conducting a strike authorization vote for 500 locomotive engineers employed by NJ Transit, the union announced on Monday.
Balloting will be conducted through noon on Aug. 31.
The union said in a press release that its contract dispute with NJ Transit dates to 2019 and has been in mediation for nearly three years. The BLET says that the NJ engineers are the lowest paid in U.S. commuter service except for one other transit agency.
“I am confident that 100 percent of the ballots returned will be in favor of striking New Jersey Transit,” said BLET National President Eddie Hall. “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.”
NJ.com reported earlier this year that NJ Transit engineers were ready to strike or leave for other jobs based on the latest wage offer [see “NJ Transit engineers say they are prepared to strike …,” Trains News Wire, Feb. 16, 2023]. The national BLET and NJ Transit settled earlier this year over a sick-out by local members on the Juneteenth holiday in 2022 [see “NJ Transit, BLET reach settlement …,” News Wire, June 16, 2023], while the transit agency is still pursuing action against the local organization.
Nostalgia time. The picture is the Ridgewood, NJ commuter depot looking east on the old E-L Rwy 4 track main, (I seem to recall one track having been removed west to the Suffern, NY commuter train yard), less than a mile west of Ridgewood Jct (WJ telegraph code), interlocking now automated tower, (if it’s still standing?), where the mainline east to and through Paterson separates from the “parallel” Bergen County mainline east, both becoming 2 tracks each, culminating at the Hoboken, NJ (former D.L.&W.) commuter depot connection to NYC . There commuters changed over to the Hudson Tubes subway, or whats known today as PATH, (Port Authority Trans Hudson). D.L.&W. ferry boats used to dock there also, back in the day.