What to Know
- The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen went on strike at 12:01 a.m. Friday, leaving some 350K NJ Transit riders impacted
- The nation’s third-largest transit system, NJ Transit, provides nearly 1 million weekday trips, including into New York City. More NJ Transit buses are being added, but supplemental service can only accommodate about 20% of the people who could be accommodated if the trains were running
- The MTA and other transit agencies are also adding service to help mitigate impacts
- Wages have been the main sticking point. The union claims its members earn an average of $113,000 a year and says an agreement could be reached if that went to $170,000. NJ Transit leadership disputes the union's data, saying engineers have average total earnings of $135,000 annually
- The last time there was a transit strike was in 1983. That one lasted about a month
The first NJ Transit rail strike in more than 40 years is now underway, with engineers walking off the job just after the stroke of midnight as they argue for higher wages. Follow live updates below.
