Rail Unions Reach Tentative Agreement In Negotiations With NJ TRANSIT
NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The two remaining rail unions negotiating with New Jersey TRANSIT have reached tentative agreements with the agency.
But it's not yet known when either group will vote on their respective proposals.
United Transportation Union Local 60, which represents conductors; the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and NJ TRANSIT all confirmed the deals on Saturday. But specific details on the agreements were not disclosed.
The unions were part of an 11-member coalition that reached deals with the agency in March. That came about 24 hours before a strike deadline.
The other unions have ratified their deals.
NJ TRANSIT has been facing the possibility of a shut down by mid-July.
NJ TRANSIT and labor unions representing its workers reached a tentative deal in March, averting the threat of a system-wide strike.
The unions were seeking an 18.4 percent pay raise over a period of seven years, as well as pay retroactive to 2011. They also wanted health insurance costs capped at 2.5 percent of base pay.
NJ TRANSIT issued the $183 million estimate for that plan — for just the first two years. The agency has instead proposed a 10.9 percent raise over seven years, with employees contributing 20 percent of their base salaries toward health insurance.
In May, NJ TRANSIT spokeswoman Nancy Snyder told CBS2 that two of the unions involved in strike negotiations narrowly rejected the new proposed contract.
"NJ TRANSIT has been advised by the two unions representing its conductors and locomotive engineers that the membership has failed to ratify the recently negotiated agreements. Both ratifications failed by narrow margins," Snyder said.
The union workers are demanding pay that is similar to that of their counterparts at the Long Island Rail Road.
Approximately 105,000 people commute into New York each weekday via NJ TRANSIT, the nation's third-largest commuter railroad. The nation's third-largest railroad serves 105,000 riders.
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