Many collective bargaining groups fall short of their goals. Train engineers at the New Jersey Transit railroad are not one of them. 

A group of 450 engineers employed at NJT, the nation’s third-largest transit hub, went on strike last Friday. After three days, they won a significant wage increase that matches regional competitors, such as the Long Island Railroad, Amtrak, and Metro-North Railroad, according to The Associated Press.

While it was the first NJT strike in 40 years, it joins a groundswell of collective wage organizing as of late. Major strike activity increased 280% in 2023, including protests from Starbucks employees and auto workers, according to the Economic Policy Institute. 

The workers’ union, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, sought to boost wages at NJT because members were taking jobs with better paying railroads. The transit authority’s leadership recognized the effort for fair pay, but insisted that they could not accept too high a deal without risking financial issues at the railroad down the line. Meanwhile, workers had not had a raise since 2019, as the union continued to hold out for a better contract. 

The strike threatened to disrupt more than just a few passersby. The system plays a crucial role in the massive commuter area, with routes to Penn Station in Manhattan, Newark Liberty International Airport, and large stadiums that host major sporting events and concerts, where both Shakira and Beyoncé are performing this week. Each hour of the strike cut New York City’s productivity by $6 million, The New York Times reported. 

Yet the engineers’ union backed them as they made their absence felt across this bustling rail network, which gets around 100,000 people from point A to B every day. Many train commuters scrambled to figure out road transportation for their commute around the state and into New York City. Some waited for trains that never came, and others simply stayed home.

A work stoppage was almost avoided during contract negotiations last month, but the union eventually rejected that deal. After 15 hours straight last Thursday, talks stalled again around 10 p.m. and the strike was set, although there was a sense that an agreement was on the horizon, Kris Kolluri, NJT’s chief executive, and Gov. Phil Murphy said in a press conference.

Accepting the union’s contract would only cost $4 million more per year than leadership’s previous offer, the union argued. It pointed out how that would be less than the cost of an enduring strike or continuing to lose engineers to other railroads, per CNN. 

With the help of federal mediators, the two sides reached an agreement Sunday evening and normal train schedules resumed on Tuesday, AP News reported. 

The union showed management “ways to boost engineers’ wages that will help NJT with retention and recruitment, without causing any significant budget issue or requiring a fare increase,” Tom Haas, the union’s general chairman, said in a prepared statement, per NorthJersey.com. 

The swift resolution avoided placing further strain on the region’s transit system and skirted congressional intervention. 

Both the union and the transit board need to vote on the specifics of the deal before it is officially approved. Engineers hoped to boost their salaries up from an average $113,000 a year, though Kolluri argued that the average current salary is more like $135,000, The New York Times reported. 

Either way, the strike helped engineers get what they wanted in the end, which was a better deal than the one on the table a month ago, Haas explained. 

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