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The basics:

• NJ Transit rail service shut down after engineers strike
• Talks with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers will resume over weekend
• Gov. Murphy stresses need for fair deal without burdening taxpayers

Updated 10:09 a.m. May 17: NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri gave an update on the rail strike at a Saturday morning press conference at the Newark Broad Street Station.

Kolluri revealed, in addition to a previously scheduled meeting with the National Mediation Board on Sunday, that NJ Transit and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) would also meet this afternoon at the bargaining table.

“I am pleased the union reached out yesterday asking to meet later today, ahead of our scheduled meeting with the National Mediation Board on Sunday,” said Kolluri. “I am hopeful that the meetings this weekend will continue to be productive and result in an agreement that meets with everyone’s satisfaction.”

Please stay with NJBIZ for the very latest on this developing situation.

The original story, posted at 2:18 p.m. May 16: The strike that shut down NJ Transit rail service remains in effect – as negotiations have not resulted in an agreement between the agency and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen.

With no deal reached May 15, rail service stopped just after midnight – triggering a contingency plan deployed by NJ Transit. Full details on that plan and alternative options can be found here.

Gov. Phil Murphy and NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri held a news conference Friday morning at the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station to give an update on the situation. “Normally, I’d start a press conference like this one by saying, ‘good morning.’ But for families and commuters here in Monmouth County, and frankly, all across New Jersey – this morning is anything but a good morning,” said Murphy. “Their days are off to an unnecessarily difficult start. We’re now roughly 10 hours into New Jersey’s first rail strike in decades.

“And I want to make sure we get one thing straight up front. It did not have to come to this,” he continued.

The governor noted that NJ Transit is working to rearrange the state’s entire transportation system as the strike continues.

“At this moment, our single highest priority, in addition to making the system work – just as it has been for the past several months – is reaching a fair and affordable deal as soon as humanly possible,” said Murphy. “A deal that provides NJ Transit’s employees, including our locomotive engineers, the wages and benefits they deserve – without being forced to raise costs on riders, commuters and taxpayers.”

No finger pointing

Murphy said that a prior deal reached with union leadership would have given engineers a raise without blowing up NJ Transit’s budget.

“We’re not here to this morning to point fingers. We are here to demonstrate that our administration remains ready to get NJ Transit back to full speed – and to provide BLET’s members their hard-earned raises,” said Murphy. “Of course, no deal under these circumstances – or probably any other – is ever going to be perfect.”

Murphy continued by saying the political expedient thing to do, given his term-limited status and upcoming exit from office, would be to cave and make a deal, leaving the NJ Transit finances in shambles for the next administration.

“We’re not doing that. We’re holding the line for the next governor and the next administration – so they do not inherit an NJ Transit that is on the brink of fiscal collapse but is, in fact, in a strong state of health,” said Murphy.

Kolluri ran through some of the particulars about how NJ Transit has adapted to the shutdown – starting with methodically putting the railroad to “bed.”

“This morning, we also ensured not only that our customers had real-time information – by having people at train stations who can answer the questions of customers,” said Kolluri, noting that includes making sure the bus lines that are now fully operational, are picking up people and getting them where they need to be on-time and efficiently. “There are a couple lines where we have seen some overcrowding – not to a point where people have been standing in lines. But we have been able to resource those lines properly to make sure, again, we handle the volume that is out there.

“That is important because this goes to a bit of what the governor talked about. He said, from the very beginning, he hopes for the best – but what? That we’re planning for the worst. That is what we are doing and we intend to do it. Our promise to our customers is we understand this is not where you wanted to be, either. But my job, at the governor’s direction, is to make sure we solve problems as they appear.

“That is my commitment. And we will do that today. We’ll do that tonight. We’ll do that every day the union decides to be on strike. That is our commitment.”

Back to the negotiating table

Kolluri said that contrary to some reports the negotiations last night ended on a conciliatory note – and that the two sides would get back together when they have a proposal to put across to each other.

“We are going to handle the strike, from our standpoint, very methodically, calmly, and address the problems as they come up. At the same time, at the governor’s very deep involvement in these negotiations – we’re going to get to a solution that is fair and fiscally responsible,” said Kolluri. “That is the gameplan. Nothing else to it.”

[W]e’re going to get to a solution that is fair and fiscally responsible. That is the gameplan. Nothing else to it.
– Kris Kolluri, NJ Transit CEO

Kolluri noted that the National Mediation Board has asked both sides to come back to the table again on Sunday – and he and the governor stressed that they would welcome talks before then.

BLET responds

In a statement after its 450 engineers and trainees went on strike, BLET National President Mark Wallace said its members had the full support of the national union as well as the Teamsters.

In response to today’s press conference, Wallace told NJBIZ, “It’s my understanding that Gov. Murphy and NJ Transit CEO and President Kris Kolluri have said that they are ready to negotiate around the clock and would love to get back to the bargaining table before Sunday. That’s funny, their clock must stop at ten minutes before 10 p.m. – that’s when they walked out of a bargaining session last night to hold a news conference. A news conference they scheduled in advance where they said they would talk to us Sunday.

“The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen would have stayed at the table last night,” Wallace continued. “We’re ready to sit down and finish this negotiation today. Our members have gone without a raise since 2019. It’s time to settle this. I will wait for Gov. Murphy or Kris Kolluri’s call.”

‘A difficult day for New Jersey’

State political and business leaders are weighing in on the situation.

“Today is a difficult day for New Jersey. The breakdown in negotiations between NJ Transit and the locomotive engineers’ union and resulting strike will have a major impact on the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of our residents,” said Senate President Nick Scutari, D-22^nd District. “I am calling on both parties to return to the negotiating table and work in good faith toward a resolution that restores service, is fiscally sound, and respects the needs of both workers and riders.”

Senate Republican Leader Anthony Bucco, R-25^th District, said New Jersey commuters deserve safe and reliable service – now. He called the strike unacceptable and for both sides to return to the negotiating table immediately.

“A swift and fair resolution must be reached that does not place the financial burden on the backs of our riders and taxpayers,” said Bucco. “The Murphy administration and NJ Transit have had five years to settle this labor dispute – and their failure to do so is simply intolerable. NJ commuters deserve better.”

The New Jersey Business & Industry Association said that while it understands the union’s right to negotiate a fair deal for themselves, any deal must not break the bank – “particularly given NJ Transit’s funding challenges.”

“This rail strike wreaks havoc for rail riders who need to get to work, to their doctor’s offices, to their stores and other important daily destinations,” said Michele Siekerka, NJBIA president and CEO.

“We urge NJ Transit and the union to continue their talks, sooner than their scheduled meeting on Sunday – and we maintain that any agreement should not require ANY additional increase in the corporate transit fee, which already gives New Jersey the highest corporate tax rate in the nation – by far.”

The New Jersey Chamber of Commerce said it is deeply concerned by the transit strike – and also called for an immediate end; stressing that prolonged disruption will inflict serious harm on the state’s economy, workforce, and businesses.

“This strike undermines the very purpose of the new corporate transit fee,” said Tom Bracken, president and CEO of the NJ Chamber. “As we stated previously, the fee was intended to fix and modernize NJ Transit – not to fund unreasonable wage increases or to become a bargaining chip in labor disputes.

“The end result of this strike cannot be a further increase in the corporate transit fee, a tax paid for by New Jersey employers. Businesses across New Jersey are already burdened, and additional costs will only drive investment and jobs out of the state.”

Editor’s note: The original story was updated  at 3:18 p.m. EST May 16, 2025, with a statement from the engineers union regarding Friday’s press conference.