NJ Transit engineers walked out of work at midnight Thursday,
snarling transportation plans for Friday commuters and travelers. The strike
extended over the weekend with quiet tracks and train stations, but on Sunday at
6 p.m. the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Railmen called off the
strike. NJ Transit and union leaders emerged from talks with a tentative agreement,
the terms of which were not disclosed and still await ratification by union members.
NJ Governor Phill Murphy indicated the terms of the deal
were favorable enough to workers that he was confident the agreement would be
accepted. This will be the second go-round in as many months that union members
will be asked to ratify contract terms. They rejected a previous offer in March
that union leaders indicated would raise train driver pay to $172,000 annually—that
rejection set up the momentum that led to the strike.
NJ Transit will require Monday to do safety inspections on
the tracks and to organize full resumption of train operations, which is scheduled
for Tuesday. NJ Transit is encouraging commuters to work from home on Monday. It will, however, uphold its contingency plan for Monday that includes additional bussing for commuters.
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