NEWARK, N.J. — Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen have rejected a tentative agreement with NJ Transit by a resounding margin, setting the stage for a possible strike or lockout as soon as May 15.
The union said today that 372 of the 427 BLET members casting ballots, or 87%, voted against the tentative deal. That agreement was reached on March 6 and announced four days later [see “NJ Transit, engineers announce …,” Trains News Wire, March 10, 2025].
“Our members are angry. I, along with other NJ Transit engineers, have kept the trains moving but we have gone without a raise since 2019, during a period of high inflation and throughout the pandemic that claimed some of our coworkers,” Tom Haas, BLET general chairman representing the engineers, said in a press release. “We earn less than our peers at other commuter railroads that share the same platforms. …
“Management has moved in our direction since NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri took over in January, but this vote count makes it clear, more needs to be done.”
Kolluri, in a statement, said he was “disappointed that the tentative agreement was not ratified but respect the outcome of the vote. … I believe a deal is still within reach, and I am committed to returning to the bargaining table immediately and meeting every day, for as long as it takes, to get it done.”
BLET Vice President James Louis said the union will resume bargaining “to try to iron out an agreement that would be acceptable to our members. … If we fail to reach an agreement in the next month, we’re prepared to strike.”
As part of the tentative agreement, the two sides had agreed that if the contract failed to be approved by either side, or was rejected by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, the “self-help” provision of the Railway Labor Act, allowing a strike or a lockout, would not be invoked for 30 days to allow for further negotiations.
