Venerdì, uno sciopero dei macchinisti di New Jersey Transit ha creato molti problemi a circa 350.000 persone che ogni giorno usano il treno per andare al lavoro nel New Jersey e a New York, costringendole a cercare soluzioni alternative o a rimanere a casa.

The strike happens because talks on Thursday failed to reach an agreement. This is the first national transport strike in over 40 years, following union members' rejection of a work deal with management a month ago.

"Tom Haas, leader della Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, ha detto che hanno presentato la proposta più recente, ma l'hanno rifiutata, bloccando le negoziazioni quando mancavano ancora due ore alla scadenza."

Kris Kolluri, CEO of NJ Transit, described the situation as a "break in discussions."

"I definitely expect to continue these talks as soon as we can," he said Thursday evening at a joint press conference with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy. "If they're ready to meet tonight, I'll meet with them again tonight. If they want to meet tomorrow morning, I'll do that too. Because I think this is a problem we can solve quickly. The real question is: do they actually want to find a solution?"

Murphy ha sottolineato l'importanza di trovare un accordo definitivo che sia equo per i lavoratori, ma anche conveniente per chi usa i mezzi pubblici e per i cittadini del New Jersey.

The announcement was made after 15 hours of continuous contract negotiations, according to the union. Picket lines are expected to start at 4 a.m. on Friday.

NJ Transit, one of the largest public transport systems in the US, runs buses and trains in New Jersey, carrying almost a million passengers on weekdays, including those traveling to New York City. The strike would halt all NJ Transit commuter trains, which provide busy routes between New York's Penn Station and northern New Jersey, as well as Newark Airport, which has recently experienced separate delays.

In the days before, the agency had mentioned backup plans, saying they planned to increase bus services. However, they warned passengers that the extra buses would only add a "very small" amount of space to existing New York commuter routes near train stations and wouldn't start running until Monday. The agency will also make deals with private companies to run bus services from key regional parking and transfer areas during rush hour on weekdays.

Comunque, l'agenzia ha fatto notare che gli autobus non potrebbero trasportare tanti passeggeri quanti ne trasportano ora i treni, ma solo il 20% circa. Perciò, l'agenzia ha suggerito a chi può di lavorare da casa in caso di sciopero.

Even just the *threat* of a strike had already caused problems for travellers. Because of the uncertainty, the transport company cancelled train and bus services to the Shakira concerts on Thursday and Friday at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

The two sides met on Monday with a federal mediation board in Washington to talk about the issue, and a mediator was there during Thursday's talks. Kolluri said on Thursday evening that the board suggested they meet again on Sunday morning to continue the discussions.

The main disagreement in talks between the agency and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has been salaries. The union wants its members to earn similar wages to those at other local passenger railways. They say their members currently earn an average of $113,000 a year, and believe an agreement is possible if the agency CEO, Kris Kolluri, approves an average yearly salary of $170,000.

However, NJ Transit's management disagrees with the union's data, stating that engineers earn an average total of $135,000 per year, with top earners making over $200,000.

Kolluri e Murphy hanno detto giovedì sera che la difficoltà principale non è trovare un accordo sull'aumento degli stipendi, ma farlo in modo che altri sindacati non chiedano aumenti simili. Questo, secondo loro, creerebbe problemi economici insostenibili per NJ Transit.

Congress has the power to step in and stop the strike, forcing the union to accept a deal, but lawmakers have not been willing to do so this time, unlike in 2022 when they prevented a nationwide freight transport strike.

The union has noticed a steady decline in its membership at NJ Transit, as more employees leave to find better-paying jobs with other railway companies. The number of engineers at NJ Transit has fallen from 500 a few months ago to around 450 today.