NJ TRANSIT To Meet With National Mediation Board As Strike Looms
NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- In an attempt to prevent a strike or lockout, NJ TRANSIT and its unions will meet with the National Mediation Board next week in a last-ditch effort to reach a contract deal.
After five years of hostile negotiatons, NJ TRANSIT and their rail unions remain far apart, WCBS 880's Stephanie Colombini reported. The two sides have met in several rounds of talks -- including one on Friday -- but union workers were still left with no deal.
Steve Burkert, of the United Transportation Union Local 60, said NJ TRANSIT's offer to slightly increase wages would be wiped out but a drastic increase in health insurance costs.
"Half of my workers actually take a pay cut on day one," Burkert said.
The workers are asking for an average annual revenue increase similar to a system used for Long Island Railroad and Metro-North workers, according to union officials.
"6-and-a-half year contract, 18.6 percent, and a modest increase in health care," Burkert said in an earlier interview.
The mediation board's decision at the March 4 meeting isn't binding, Colombini reported.
Unions have authorized a walkout just after midnight on March 13 unless there is an agreement, CBS2 reported.
According to NJ TRANSIT data more than 150,000 people commute daily on trains. Add that to the 280,000 who already take buses, and it could be a bumpy ride.
"How are you moving even on weekends into and out of New York; how are you moving a couple hundred thousand people a day?" Burkert said.
A statement from NJ Transit said the agency is developing an alternative service plan in the event of a strike.
