NEWARK, N.J. — NJ Transit has asked President Joe Biden to form a Presidential Emergency Board to address a potential strike or lockout involving members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, NJ.com reports, delaying any potential job action.
A union official and NJ Transit spokesman both confirmed the request to NJ Advance Media.
Government officials have 30 days to consider the request, which was made to the National Mediation Board and goes to Biden. If a board is formed, it would have 120 days to consider the views of the two sides and other information, then make a non-binding recommendation.
The job dispute between NJ Transit and the BLET is in a 30-day cooling off period that ends today (July 24). The cooling-off period began when the National Mediation Board released the two sides from further talks on June 24, after negotiations failed to lead to a new contract.
NJ Transit’s engineers are working under a contract that expired in 2019. They authorized a strike last year [see “NJ Transit engineers vote to strike,” Trains News Wire, Sept. 1, 2023], having already been in mediation for almost three years, but continued negotiations under the complex processes required by the Railway Labor Act.
The BLET says NJ Transit’s engineers are the lowest paid in commuter service in the nation, now that those at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority have a new contract. NJ Transit notes it has reached agreement with the other 14 of its 15 rail unions, covering 91% of its union rail employees.
The last NJ Transit strike was in 1983.
