New Jersey Transit service shut down as train engineers go on strike
New Jersey Transit service has been suspended Friday as train engineers walked off the job just after midnight amidst a labor strike.
"Due to a strike by locomotive engineers represented by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, all NJ Transit rail service is currently suspended," the rail service said on social media Friday.
"After 15 hours of non-stop contract talks today, no agreement on a wage increase was reached this evening between the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and NJ Transit managers," the union said in a statement Thursday.
"NJ Transit managers walked out of the talks shortly before 10 p.m. and through their actions have forced a strike despite the transit agency having the funds for a raise. Trains that usually run 365 days a year will come to a stop," the statement reads.
The BLET says it has been seeking a new agreement with NJ Transit since 2019 and has gone without a raise for "five long years."
First transit strike in New Jersey in 4 decades
The New York Times reports this is the first statewide transit strike in New Jersey in more than 40 years and that about 450 unionized locomotive engineers walked off the job.
The rail service said on its website it has "developed a contingency plan that will accommodate an extremely limited number of rail customers" and that it encourages "all those who can work from home to do so and limit traveling on the NJ Transit" to essential purposes only.
This contingency plan, according to NJ Transit, includes adding "very limited capacity" to existing New York commuter bus routes in close proximity to rail stations and contracting with private carriers to operate bus service from key regional Park & Ride locations during weekday peak periods.
Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at Paste BN. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@gannett.com.