On Friday, train workers in New Jersey stopped working. Many people who use the train to go to work in New Jersey and New York had to find another way to travel or stay home.

The workers stopped working because they could not agree on Thursday. This is the first time in 40 years they have stopped working. It happened one month after most workers said no to a work deal.

"We gave them the plan, but they said no and left," said Tom Haas. "We still had two hours to work."

The boss of NJ Transit, Kris Kolluri, said they will stop talking for now.

He said, "I want to talk more about this soon. If they want to meet, I will meet them. I think we can find a way to fix this. But, do they want to find a fix?"

Murphy said it's important to have a deal. The deal should be good for workers. It should also be good for people who use trains and pay taxes in New Jersey.

The news is here after a long meeting about the job contract, says the union. People will probably start protesting at 4 a.m. on Friday.

NJ Transit is a big transport system. It has buses and trains in New Jersey. Many people use it every day to go to places like New York City. The strike stops all NJ Transit trains. These trains go between New York and New Jersey, and also to Newark airport. The airport has had some problems lately too.

The company said they have plans to use more buses. They want to help people who use trains in New York. But the buses will only have a few extra seats. The buses will start on Monday. The company will also use other bus companies to help from some parking places on weekdays.

But the bus company said the buses can't carry as many people. Only a few train users can take the bus. So, if there is a strike, the company asks people to work from home if they can.

Because of a problem, trains and buses to Shakira's shows in New Jersey were stopped on Thursday and Friday. This made travel difficult.

They met on Monday in Washington to talk. Someone helped them talk on Thursday too. They will meet again on Sunday morning.

The agency and the train workers are talking about money. The workers want more money like other train workers nearby. They want about $170,000 each year. Now, they get about $113,000. They hope the boss, Kris Kolluri, says yes.

But NJ Transit says the union is wrong. They say engineers earn $135,000 each year, and some earn more than $200,000.

Kolluri and Murphy said on Thursday that the problem is not about money. It is about other groups asking for more money too. This could make things hard for NJ Transit.

The government can stop the strike and make the workers agree to a deal. But this time, they don't want to do it, like they did in 2022 for the train strike.

The union at NJ Transit has fewer members now. Many members left for better jobs at other train companies. There were 500 engineers, now there are 450.