NJ Transit train engineers reject labor deal with management

💲The engineers union have not had a contract since 2019

💲87% of BLET members voting rejected an offer from NJ Transit

💲If an agreement is not reached a strike could begin May 15

New Jersey Transit train engineers have rejected a labor agreement with management, raising the potential for a strike or a lockout next month.

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen on Tuesday rejected the March deal by a margin of 87%, the union said in a statement. The Railway Labor Act permits the workers to strike or NJ Transit's management to lock workers out as soon as May 15, according to the union.

“Our members are angry," said union General Chairman Tom Haas. “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.”

NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri said in a statement he was disappointed the agreement was not ratified by members and that he was committed to returning to the bargaining table.

“My focus remains on reaching a fair and sustainable agreement that works for everyone and ensures NJ Transit can continue to provide the reliable service our customers count on,” Kolluri said.

ALSO READ: 9-year-old girl dies in Newark apartment fire, police say

Round the clock negotiations

During the NJ 101.5 Morning Show on Wednesday Kolluri told Eric Scott that a bargaining session is scheduled although he did not disclose when. He and Haas expressed a willingness to meet anytime to get a deal done.

"I will work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I will not sleep. I rarely sleep as it is, I will go anywhere he wants me to go a deal. That is what's important. That's what the riders of the system expect. Frankly, that's what he should expect," Kolluri said.

A message seeking comment with Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, whose administration oversees the agency, was also left Wednesday.

Details about the agreement were murky. A statement released at the time of the agreement cited a “reasonable wage increase” for the union’s members, a well as the resolution of a long-standing grievance.

Haas told Scott that a work stoppage is the last thing anyone wants but members want to be paid on par with the counterparts at other passenger transportation agencies in the northeast.

"We are significantly behind everyone else. And honestly, that represents a huge issue for New Jersey Transit, because we're seeing engineers leave constantly to go work for other railroads," Haas told Scott. "It's at a point where it could create another manpower shortage for New Jersey Transit in the near future."

Kolluri started in January as NJ Transit’s top executive. Last summer, then-President Joe Biden signed an executive order creating a board to resolve the dispute. At the time, NJ Transit said a strike could be possible as soon as March 2025.

New Jersey Transit operates buses and rail in the state, providing an estimated 925,000 weekday trips, including into New York City. The labor dispute goes back to 2019, when the engineers’ contract expired.

(Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed)

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom