Communities Bracing For The Worst If NJ TRANSIT Workers Go On Strike
NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) - As NJ TRANSIT and rail workers unions continued contract negotiations Monday ahead of a possible strike this weekend, Gov. Chris Christie said he's going ahead with his vacation.
Even though Christie is going away, New Jersey communities are bracing for the worst.
Christie said he is going away to celebrate his 30th wedding anniversary Tuesday, WCBS 880's Peter Haskell reports. Christie said he'll continue to monitor negotiations and plans on being back by the end of the week.
Christie added it's not his job to be directly involved in the negotiations.
Thousands of commuters are hoping the talks won't get derailed.
"I'm sure if there's no train everyone's going to be commuting by car. It's going to be crazy," Mike DeFrancisis of South Orange, New Jersey, told CBS2's Brian Conybeare.
The two sides met with the National Mediation Board Friday. Stephen Burkett, spokesman for the 11 rail unions, described the session as productive.
Workers say they're fed up after five years without a contract or a raise.
NJ TRANSIT says their contingency plans will accommodate some 40,000 of the roughly 100,000 commuters that use the rail daily.
Commuter Michael Kwok told CBS2 that he doesn't think he can rely on the railroad's contingency plans.
"Not reliable at all," Kwok said.
Some communities, like South Orange, are making contingency plans of their own. Township Administrator Barry Lewis said jitney buses will be their main alternative.
"Instead of picking up commuters around town to get them here to the South Orange train station, these jitneys will pick people up here at the station and take them to PATH trains in Newark," Lewis said.
However, that service would only handle about half of the 2,000 residents who take the train every day and you can't use the jitneys if you don't live here.
"We don't have enough jitney capacity to handle our own residents so we're going to limited to that and proof of residency will be required," Lewis told CBS2.
CBS2 reports this kind of local planning is being repeated all over North and Central Jersey as communities are hoping for the best and bracing for the worst if negotiations get derailed.
CBS2 reports Monday's talks ended around 6:30 p.m. with no deal.
In addition, the agency said it would add five park-and-ride locations where commuters could ride a bus into New York City, or to a ferry terminal or path stop.
If negotiations fail, a strike could start Sunday, March 13.
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