Federal board makes move in hopes of avoiding New Jersey Transit strike

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Transit and its train engineers were moving closer to a potential strike as early as next week, but both sides will first head to Washington to meet with a federal mediation board in hopes of averting a rail shutdown.

The National Mediation Board ordered both sides to show up on Monday in an attempt to work out their differences, both sides said Friday.

A strike could happen in just a week on May 16, crippling commuters across the state.

New Jersey Transit operates buses and rail in the state, providing nearly 1 million weekday trips, including into New York City. The agency plans to increase bus service if there is a rail strike, but the buses won’t be able to handle close to the same number of passengers.

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen in mid-April overwhelmingly rejected a labor agreement with management. Both sides had earlier said the tentative agreement included a “reasonable wage increase” for the union’s members, as well as the resolution of a long-standing grievance.

But since then, both sides traded jabs over the labor dispute, which goes back to 2019, when the engineers’ contract expired. Union leaders say the train engineers have gone without a raise over the past five years.