A group of New Jersey public transport workers left work at 12:01 p.m. Friday morning – a strike that could end up being one of the greatest disruptions of state transport for decades.
The members of the union said that the entire NJ Transit rail service, used by more than 100,000 runners on weekdays, would be offline because the agency and governor Phil Murphy did not conclude an agreement with the brotherhood of locomotive engineers and trainmens. The officials of Garden State Transit warned the commuters to prepare for the impact, urging them to work at home if possible on Friday.
The work of work, the first major New Jersey transit strike since 1983, should not affect the NJ Transit bus service. Path and Amtrak trains are still working in New Jersey. Coach’s buses and ferries were the only other public transport options between New Jersey and Manhattan. Officials have warned that all other modes of transport are likely to be more congested, however, following the strike.
The judgment left many confused commuters to Newark Penn Station while they were fighting to find other ways of working.
“It is generally a fairly easy journey of this region, but the buses are infrequent, of course,” said Simone Jeanmarie, 56, who works in fashion in Midtown Manhattan. “I heard that the path is completely packed, so I will not even try to take this path and I do not want to be piled up like a sardine.”
The leaders of the fraternity of locomotive engineers and trains, who represent people who operate NJ public transportation trains, have entered into a provisional agreement with agency officials in March. But the approximately 450 members of the union voted against the agreement last month, opening the way to Friday strike. The workers said that the offer did not include a sufficiently significant salary increase, noting that they had not received an increase since the expiration of their last contract in 2019.
The engineers of the fraternity of the locomotives and the members of the trains made a stake in front of the New York Penn station when they left Friday morning.
Ramsey Khalifeh
The head of the Union Mark Wallace accused the State Transport Agency on Friday evening of spending too much money on “pet projects” and management benefits, and not enough for engineers.
“Enough, that’s enough,” said Wallace in a prepared statement. “We will stay outside until our members receive the equitable salary they deserve.”
President of NJ Transit, Kris Kolluri, said on several occasions that he would not accept an agreement that would endanger the fragile finances of the agency.
Murphy, next to Kolluri Firday Night, said that the agency’s finances were essential.
“NJ Transit faces a fiscal reality that gives thought,” Murphy said at a press conference. “It is a balance that we must manage.”
It is a story in development.
Stephen Nessen contributed the reports.
