A strike by New Jersey Transit workers on Friday forced approximately 350,000 commuters in New Jersey and New York City to find alternative ways to reach their destinations or stay home.

A strike began after the latest round of negotiations failed on Thursday. This is the first public transport strike in the state in 40 years, and it happened a month after union members strongly rejected a labor agreement with management.

"We presented them with a final offer, but they rejected it and walked away with two hours left on the clock," stated Tom Haas, President of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen.

New Jersey Transit CEO Chris Colurie described the current situation as a "breakdown in communication."

He stated at a joint press conference with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy late Thursday that he hoped to restart the conversation as soon as possible. "If they are willing to meet tonight, we will meet again tonight. If they want to meet tomorrow morning, we will meet again tomorrow morning, because I believe this is a problem that can be solved quickly. The question is whether they are willing to find a solution."

Governor Murphy stated that it was important to reach a fair agreement for employees while ensuring the final result was affordable for New Jersey commuters and taxpayers.

According to the union, this announcement follows 15 hours of continuous contract negotiations, and the picket line is scheduled to begin at 4 a.m. on Friday.

New Jersey Transit, the third-largest public transportation system in the US, providing bus and rail services and handling around one million trips on weekdays including to New York City, will see all its commuter trains suspended, impacting key routes between northern New Jersey and New York City's Penn Station across the Hudson River; Newark Airport, already facing separate delays, will also be affected by this strike.

The agency recently announced emergency plans to increase bus services, but warned that the additional capacity would be "very limited" and only supplement existing commuter routes near train stations, with service starting on Monday; furthermore, they plan to contract private companies to run bus services from park-and-ride locations in key areas during weekday rush hours.

However, the organization noted that buses could only accommodate about 20% of current rail users and advised those who could work from home to do so in the event of a strike.

Even the threat of a strike has already disrupted travel plans. Due to the uncertainty, public transportation services have cancelled train and bus routes for Thursday and Friday to the Shakira concert at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

To address the issue, both sides met with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service in Washington on Monday for discussions, and a mediator was also present during Thursday's negotiations. Colury stated that the mediation board proposed a meeting for Sunday morning to restart negotiations on Thursday night.

The main point of contention in the wage increase discussion is the desire of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen to achieve pay parity with other passenger rail services in the region and the company itself. The union states that its members earn an average annual salary of $113,000 and suggests an agreement could be reached if the company's CEO, Chris Golluri, agrees to an average annual salary of $170,000.

However, New Jersey Transit management refuted the union's data, stating that the average annual income for their engineers is $135,000, with top earners exceeding $200,000.

Governor Murphy stated Thursday night that the central issue wasn't whether both sides could agree on wage increases. Instead, the key question was if such an agreement could be reached without prompting similar demands from other unions, which would place financial strain on New Jersey Transit.

The government has the power to step in and stop the strike, pushing the union to accept a deal, but it seems unlikely they will intervene as they did to prevent the national freight rail strike in 2022.

The union stated that they are facing a consistent decrease in staff numbers at New Jersey Transit, as more members are leaving for other railway companies that offer better salaries. The number of engineers at New Jersey Transit has fallen from 500 to approximately 450 in recent months.