NEWARK, N.J. — Almost two years after voting to do so, NJ Transit locomotive engineers launched a strike today (Friday, May 16) at 12:01 a.m., leaving some 350,000 daily riders without their normal way to and from work.
The strike shut down the agency’s 12 commuter rail lines, serving some 166 stations. Buses and light rail routes are not affected, but NJ Transit has said its bus service will only be able to accommodate a fraction of the rail ridership. Officials have urged customers to work from home if possible.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said at a press conference late Thursday night that the strike will “upend the lives of hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans,” while NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri said he remains committed to “remaining at the bargaining table for as long as it takes to get an agreement finalized.”
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, which represents about 450 NJ Transit engineeers, says on its website that the two sides were unable to reach an agreement following 15 hours of nonstop bargaining on Thursday. The union launched picketing at several sites as of 4 a.m. today. Union members have been working without a contract since 2019, and have sought a significant pay increase, saying they are paid less than engineers at all comparable commuter operations. The union says its members make at least $10 per hour less than engineers for passenger railroads that share platforms with NJ Transit.
BLET National President Mark Wallace said in a Teamsters press release that the strike “could be over in an instant if NJT offers a fair contract. … Our members at NJT only want to be paid the same as engineers who work for other commuter railroads that share the same train platforms. NJT can afford it. We will hold the line for as long as it takes.”
As the union has throughout negotiations, Wallace also blasted the transit agency for its 2024 move to a new headquarters building adjacent to Newark Penn Station.
“NJ Transit has a half-billion dollars for a swanky new headquarters and $53 million for decorating the interior of that unnecessary building,” Wallace said in a press release. “They gave away $20 million in revenue during a fare holiday last year. They have money for penthouse views and pet projects, just not for their front-line workers. Enough is enough. We will stay out until our members receive the fair pay that they deserve.”
NJ Transit, in turn, says its other 14 rail unions have accepted contracts under a pattern bargaining agreement, and that it cannot afford the terms sought by engineers. “I have always said that any deal we reach would have to be fair to our engineers and fiscally responsible without burdening our riders or the taxpayers of New Jersey,” Kolluri said Thursday.
Murphy and Kolluri are scheduled to hold another press conference today at 10 a.m. ET.
Engineers voted to strike in August 2023 [see “NJ Transit engineers vote to strike,” Trains News Wire, Sept. 1, 2023]. But under the complex rules of the Railway Labor act, the two sides had to participate in mediation, have one side reject binding arbitration, then await non-binding recommendations from two Presidential Emergency Boards before “self help” — a strike or lockout — was allowed. Even that deadline was pushed back for a time, as the union and agency announced a tentative contract agreement in April, only to have 87% of BLET members vote down the deal [see “NJ Transit engineers reject contract,” News Wire, April 15, 2025].
The start of the strike triggered an NJ Transit contingency plan including temporary Park and Ride locations and additional bus service for communities along its rail lines. However, the agency estimated the expanded bus service could only handle about 20% of normal rail ridership and urged those who could work from home to do so. Neighboring transit agencies PATH and Metro-North also launched contingency plans, with Metro-North honoring tickets for those who usually use its West-of-Hudson services provided by NJ Transit, while PATH deployed station “ambassadors” to help those unfamiliar with its system, and was prepared to add service to respond to overcrowding.
The strike is not only the first for NJ Transit since 1983, but a rare walkout among major North American commuter rail systems. A Long Island Rail Road strike on June 17, 1994, was resolved the next day, with trains returning on June 19; a four-day strike by workers at Toronto-area operator GO Transit in November 2022 affected bus service but not rail operations. California’s Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority did experience a strike earlier this year, but that agency serves about 100,000 riders daily with bus and light rail service, not commuter rail.
— Updated at 8:12 a.m. CT with additional comment from BLET president.
