(Washington, D.C.) — New Jersey Transit and its train engineers are in Washington, D.C today, to meet with a federal mediator, in hopes of heading off a strike that would force 350,000 daily commuters to find another way to get to work. The two sides have been at each other’s throats for weeks. Engineers want more money, NJ Transit says they want too much. The strike deadline is Friday.
NJ Transit President Kris Kolluri says he thought there was deal in place with the union back in March. He says the union walked away from a contract that had given them almost everything they asked for. He is questioning the mental fitness of union leaders. Train engineer Union chairman, Tom Haas says NJ Transit is longer negotiating in good faith.
If engineers really walk, NJ Transit will fill some of the void with busses, but that will only accommodate around 20 percent of it’s daily train riders.
