The train drivers in New Jersey went on strike on Friday. About 350,000 people who travel to work in New Jersey and New York City had to find other ways to get to work or stay home.

The strike happened because the last talks on Thursday didn't reach an agreement. It's the first transport strike in the state for over 40 years. It also happened a month after most union members said no to a deal with the managers.

Tom Haas, who leads the train workers' union, said, "We gave our last offer, but they said no. They stopped talking after only two hours left."

クリス・コルルリさんは、ニュージャージートランジットのCEOです。彼はこの問題を「交渉が少しの間、止まっている」と言いました。

彼は木曜日の遅くに、ニュージャージー州の知事と一緒に記者会見で言いました。「できるだけ早く話し合いを始めたいと思っています。もし今夜会うことができれば、また会います。明日の朝に会いたいなら、また話し合います。この問題はすぐに解決できると思います。大切なのは、彼らが解決したいと思っているかどうかです。」

Mr. Murphy said it's important to be fair to workers and also reach a good agreement for people who travel to work and pay taxes in New Jersey.

The labor union said this announcement came after 15 hours of non-stop contract talks. They think the picket line will start Friday at 4 AM.

New Jersey Transit is a very big transportation system in the US. It runs buses and trains in New Jersey. About one million trips happen each weekday, including trips to New York City. Because of the strike, all trains to New York City's Penn Station, towns in north New Jersey, and Newark Airport will stop. The airport has already had train delays recently.

The transport group said they plan to add more buses because of the emergency. But the buses can only help a little bit with the usual New York bus routes. They said the buses will start running on Monday. They also plan to work with private companies to have buses from the main parking areas during busy times on weekdays.

But, the bus can only carry about 20% of the people who usually use the train. So, if there is a strike, the organisation suggests that people who can work from home should do so.

The bad weather is already making it hard to travel. Because we don't know what will happen, trains and buses to Shakira's concerts at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Thursday and Friday are cancelled.

The people involved talked about the problem with a group in Washington on Monday. This group helps solve disagreements. Someone also helped during talks on Thursday. On Thursday night, Mr. Korruri said that the group asked them to meet again on Sunday morning to continue talking.

The main problem in talks between the train drivers' union and the government is money. The union wants salaries like other train companies in the area. They say their members earn $113,000 a year on average. They might agree if the CEO, Chris Collucci, agrees to an average salary of $170,000.

But the people in charge at New Jersey Transit don't agree with the union's numbers. They say that train drivers earn about $135,000 each year, and some of the highest paid drivers earn more than $200,000.

Mr. Colrull and Mr. Murphy said that on Thursday night, the problem isn't if they can agree on a pay raise. The problem is if other unions will ask for the same raise. If that happens, New Jersey Transit might not be able to pay for it.

The government can stop the strike and make the workers agree. They did this in 2022 to stop a train strike. But this time, no one in the government is trying to do that.

The train union at New Jersey Transit has fewer members because many drivers are leaving for better jobs at other train companies. A few months ago, there were 500 drivers, but now there are only about 450.