The first rail strike in New Jersey in 42 years is over after three days — but it still will take one more day to get it all straightened out.
Gov. Phil Murphy and New Jersey Transit CEO Kris Kolluri said in a news conference Sunday night that an agreement had been reached, but NJ Transit and the local chapter of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen need one additional day to ensure the tracks are safe and employees are properly scheduled.
Then, there’s this: While the strike is expected to be over, the sides have only reached a tentative agreement, which still needs to be ratified by the rank-and-file members of the BLET and the board of NJ Transit.
Murphy and Kolluri are confident it will be — and thrilled that the strike lasted just a weekend.
“To offer the understatement of the year, this is a very good outcome — but it is also one that was far from inevitable,” Murphy said before thanking Kolluri and his team, as well as the leadership of the BLET, for working nonstop to reach a deal, one he said was fair to the union as well as the state’s taxpayers.
Kolluri agreed.
“I think we are particularly gratified that we were able to find a solution that meets the needs of the customers and our employees, and, more importantly than all of it, the taxpayers of New Jersey,” he said. “The deal itself reflects a series of concessions that came together by way of a work rule that will eventually end up paying for this.
“I am so pleased that that effort did not go unrewarded, and that’s why we are here today.”
Neither side would offer specifics of the agreement, only to say they had found a way to give additional compensation to BLET members in a way that would not impact all other union agreements.
Murphy said the agreement showed New Jersey can be both pro-union and pro-taxpayer. He gave thanks to Kolluri, who he said was the MVP of the moment, and his colleagues at NJ Transit.
“It does not get done without extraordinary efforts by this group to my left and their colleagues,” he said. “They have poured hour after countless hour into reaching an
agreement that is both fair to NJ Transit’s employees while also being affordable for our state’s commuters and taxpayers.”
Murphy said the moment shows why New Jersey is the “quintessential organized labor state.”
“Even in the midst of a seemingly intractable situation, Kris and his colleagues never gave up on providing our locomotive engineers the raises they have earned, while also ensuring that our public transit system remains accessible and affordable,” the governor said.
BLET General Chairman Tom Haas said the strike was settled because both sides worked in a manner that would allow them to reach an agreement.
“It’s been cordial the entire time,” he said. “We’ve had difficulties, because, obviously, we disagreed, but I will say we were able to disagree as adults. It never got really contentious or hot-tempered. We had a cordial attitude the entire time through.
“I want to thank New Jersey Transit and CEO Kris Kolluri for maintaining that tenor (so) that we were able to have honest and candid discussions about what we felt our differences were and we worked through them.”
Murphy and Kolluri said the state will continue with its alternative plans for Monday — which include increased bus service and continued ask (of employers and employees) to work from home on Monday if you can.
Kolluri said it’s all in the name of safety, as NJ Transit will make a safety check of the entire operation.
“We will never compromise the safety of our riders,” he said. “For us, it is better to get it right and do it methodically than to rush and try to meet some artificial deadline and get it wrong.”
By Tuesday, the commute should be back to normal … assuming the proper approvals go through.
Murphy acknowledged NJ Transit and the unions had a similar agreement previously, only to have it not be ratified. He feels it’s different this time.
“There’s a real feeling that we landed in a really good place,” he said. “You could argue we thought that before. I understand that, but this time, it really does feel that way on both sides of the table.”
Kolluri agreed, saying the previous near-agreement helped pave the way for this one.
“The past is the past,” he said. “I think we learned some important lessons on what the membership wanted, and I think the union this time did a really good job of clarifying their positions.
“In these negotiations, in addition to the broader issue of fair wages, we were able to go point by point and talk about some of those provisions that they cared about. And I think we were able to address (that) to the satisfaction of them, and, equally important, the taxpayers of New Jersey.”
