NEWARK, NJ (TIP): NJ Transit engineers announced late Thursday, May 15 evening, that contract negotiations between the union and the transit agency failed to reach an agreement and that the union was going on strike. NJ Transit and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen had been negotiating up until the deadline.

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen announced the move shortly after 11 p.m. Thursday.

The primary demand of NJ Transit train engineers is fair compensation, including a wage increase that would bring their salaries on par with those of engineers at other major railroads. Specifically, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) is seeking a contract that would raise the average annual salary of a train engineer from $135,000 to at least $190,000, while NJ Transit has offered a raise that would bring the average to $172,000. The union also wants the agreement to include fair working conditions and pay.
The transit agency’s chief executive, Kris Kolluri, has repeatedly said that it cannot afford the pay increases the union is demanding.

The union said they would get back to the negotiating table on Sunday morning and pick up where they left off.