The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), who went on strike last month for three days, ratified the contract agreement Tuesday with NJ Transit. Eighty-nine percent of BLET members cast ballots, with 398 voting in favor (95%) and 21 voting against (5%).
The seven-year agreement, covering the period of 2020-2027, addresses rates of pay and other issues for the 450 locomotive engineers employed by the transit agency. In addition to a pay increase that will raise hourly wages to over $50 per hour, locomotive engineers will also receive retroactive wages and a signing bonus.
“This is a member-driven union,” said BLET National President Mark Wallace. “Our members told us through an earlier vote that they wanted parity with engineers at Amtrak and other passenger railroads that share the same train platforms. Prior to that vote, engineers voted unanimously to strike when allowed under the rules of the Railway Labor Act, if a voluntary agreement couldn’t be reached. Now, through this vote, our members have told us that the terms agreed to are both fair and acceptable.”
The agreement ratified by the union on Tuesday will be voted on by NJ Transit’s board at their regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday.
“I am pleased to announce the ratification of a new contract by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), representing a fair and fiscally responsible agreement for our locomotive engineers, NJ TRANSIT, our customers, and the taxpayers of New Jersey,” said NJ Transit President and Chief Executive Officer Kris Kolluri. “From the outset, Governor Murphy and I were clear that any agreement must balance fair compensation with budgetary discipline—and this contract delivers on both. We adhered to the established bargaining pattern and, through constructive negotiations, secured meaningful concessions that enabled us to fund the wage increases sought by BLET members without exceeding our current budget.”
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) walked off the job at 12:01 a.m. on May 16 when negotiations with NJ Transit over wages had reached an impasse. The strike was the first by the engineers in 42 years and lasted for three days and impacted 350,000 commuters across the state. On April 15, The BLET refused to ratify a March deal by a margin of 87%. BLET General Chairman Thomas Haas said at the time that the union had been working without a raise since 2019 and that NJ Transit engineers earn less than their peers at other commuter railroads.
“All along we’ve said we didn’t want to be the highest paid engineers, we only wanted equal pay for equal work,” said Haas, who works as an NJ Transit engineer as well as BLET’s general chairman at the commuter railroad. “This agreement brings us close to what our peers make for doing the same type of work with the same levels of experience and training.” Added Haas, “This agreement gives us the pay raises we needed, but also was done without a major hit to NJT’s budget and should not require a fare hike for passengers.”
BLET said the accord will help the union increase membership. In recent months, the number of engineers employed by NJ Transit has shrunk from nearly 500 to 450 today, according to BLET, saying NJ Transit’s locomotive engineers have left for better pay at other railroads. The union says it takes two years and costs about $250,000 to train someone to replace an engineer who has left for work elsewhere or retired.
NJ Transit is the nation’s largest statewide public transportation system providing more than 925,000 weekday trips on 263 bus routes, three light rail lines, 12 commuter rail lines and through Access Link paratransit service.
