July 23, 2016
The threat of a crippling rail strike is over after the members of two NJ Transit unions approved an agreement with the agency this weekend.
Members of the SMART Transportation Division Local 60, representing conductors and trainmen, approved the pact by a vote of 545 to 322, which were counted on Saturday.
Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers ratified the agreement by a vote 184 to 140, which was announced on the union's website on Friday.
The two unions, which represent the largest group of unionized rail workers, rejected a tentative settlement, over dissatisfaction with a new health plan that the agency wanted to implement.
The unions also wanted retroactive pay paid in one installment, instead of two, which other rail unions agreed to in a settlement reached on March 11.
Both unions returned to the bargaining table in May, but seemed to be at odds with NJ Transit when a 60-day cooling off period was about to run out last month. However, a last minute deal was reached on June 25.
NJ Transit made concessions to allow workers to stay in an existing health insurance plan if they pay more, instead of requiring them to switch to a new plan, said sources with knowledge of the deal and who are not authorized to speak to the media.
In return, the unions agreed to accept two payments this summer and next summer for retroactive pay owed to them for the years they worked without a new contract, they said. The unions wanted members to receive the full amount this year, sources said. This is similar to what union bus drivers agreed to in 2015.
With the vote, commuters are a little closer to being spared from a crippling rail strike. Under contingency plans announced by NJ Transit in March only 40,000 of the 105,000 New York bound rail commuters could have been transported.
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