How you'd get to work during an NJ Transit strike
How rail commuters would get to work if NJ Transit rail workers strike?
February 11, 2016
Rail unions officials said today that their members have authorized a strike against NJ Transit, but are hoping the agency returns to the bargaining table.
"We are certainly hopeful that NJ Transit gets back to the negotiating table," said Stephen Burkert, general chairman of the SMART Union transportation division, which represents conductors. "We have no official date."
Members of 17 rail unions have taken a vote and the result was "100 percent" to strike.
An increase in medical premiums that would negate a wage increase, recommended by a federal labor board, is among the major hurdles, he said.
Another negotiating session has been scheduled, said Dennis Martin, interim NJ Transit executive director. Burkert said the unions haven't been notified of a date for new talks.
The unions have been working without a contract for five years. The unions are looking at a proposal that calls for an 800 percent increase in health insurance premiums and an overall 6 percent pay raise, which Burkert said means workers would pay between $400 and $700 a month.
"We've done everything in our power to avert a strike," Burkert said. "Half of our coalition members would take a pay cut on day one (of a new contract)."
NJ Transit insiders said earlier this month that there was a 75 to 85 percent likelihood of a "soft strike" over the weekend of March 12.
However, Burkert and other officials said they would not strike if both sides are still talking. The other action that could halt rail service is if NJ Transit locks out union workers on or after the deadline.
Any strike on the 12th would likely last through the Monday morning commute on March 14, when workers say they expect to be ordered back to work by Congress. The last strike in March 1983 lasted for 34 days.
One hurdle to a deal is that NJ Transit negotiators said they didn't have the authority to approve a deal, Burkert said.
"When we were in Washington, their answer was consistently we need to get the word from Trenton," he said.
Ultimately, Gov. Chris Christie would have the final word because he could veto any NJ Transit board minutes that contain a ratified agreement.
Martin declined to comment when asked about that or to answer other contract questions because the issue is in negotiations..
Transit advocates speaking at NJ Transit's board meeting urged officials to settle with the union.
"Five years without a contract is dead wrong, you have to see that there is no strike," said Orin Getz, a New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers director, representing Rockland County, N.Y. "Go to Trenton and tell them to give you the money to keep NJ Transit operating and to negotiate a settlement."
NJ Transit has been working on a strike contingency plan that would look a lot like what was implemented in 1983 and after Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
The Hurricane Sandy plan used several key parking areas as park and ride lots for extra buses hired by the agency to replace trains.
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