NEWARK, N.J. — N.J. Transit’s CEO says he is ready to “work all night” in an effort to reach an agreement with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, which is ready to strike in March if it does not reach a deal on a new contract.
“Let’s do it tomorrow,” Kris Kolluri, who became CEO this month, said on Wednesday (Jan. 22), NorthJersey.com reports. “Let’s do it today. I’ll work all night. … We respect them, but we want to get to a negotiating table so we can negotiate this deal.”
A Presidential Emergency Board addressing the dispute between the agency and union recommended NJ Transit’s offer this week, but the union rejected that non-binding decision [see “Second Presidential Emergency Board supports …,” Trains News Wire, Jan. 21, 2025]. That started a 60-day cooling off period before “self-help” — either a strike or lockout — is allowed. BLET National President Eddie Hall said on Tuesday that he hopes that Kolluri and the agency “will choose to avoid a disruption in service by … working out a fair agreement that will keep the trains moving.”
The union has been working without a contract since 2019 and authorized a strike in 2023. A new contract is expected to be retroactive to 2020 and run through June 30, 2028. NJ Transit is offering a contract in line with those accepted by other unions; its offer would amount to a total raise of about 30% over those 8½ years, while the BLET is seeking 40.25%.
