More NJ Transit Strikes Banned Under Temp. Order, Federal Judge Says

NEW JERSEY - Additional strikes - like the Friday strike that caused major daytime commute disruptions and halted service Friday evening - from an NJ Transit train engineer union are prohibited until a court hearing later this week, according to a federal judge’s emergency order.

The order, signed Sunday by U.S. District Judge Christine O’Hearn, bars the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLE) from calling, authorizing, participating in, encouraging or continuing interference with NJ Transit operations, including but not limited to strikes, work stoppages, slowdowns or sick-outs.

The order was put in place because the union “admittedly has made no efforts whatsoever to communicate to its members advising them of their legal obligation to maintain the status quo” and adhere to the Federal Railway Labor Act despite NJ Transit’s requests beginning on Wednesday to do so, the federal judge said.

“The court has made specific factual and legal findings as to the illegal job action, BLE’s repeated and ongoing failure to take any reasonable measures to prevent or stop such conduct, and the significant public interest at stake,” Judge O’Hearn wrote.

BLE was also instructed to notify all engineers employed by NJ Transit about the order on Sunday. A hearing on the matter is set to take place Tuesday in Camden.

NJ Transit "became aware of a rumor" late Thursday that the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLE&T) union might initiate an "illegal job action" on Friday, having engineers "mark off" work in protest of holiday pay schedules surrounding the Juneteenth holiday.

Juneteenth was a state holiday in New Jersey before it was a federal holiday; the state recognized it Friday. NJ Transit told Patch that the engineers' union did not sign a contract giving them Friday off of work.

NJ Transit filed a complaint in New Jersey district court on Friday asking the federal judge to bar train engineers from engaging in further strikes. Over 200 engineers called out on Friday, according to court documents, resulting in an estimated 300 canceled trains.

The callouts amounted to about two and a half times more than average Friday mark-offs, Judge O’Hearn said. 143 engineers also called out Saturday and 133 engineers called out on Sunday.

“BLE&T Engineers have called out in such numbers so to constitute a strike in violation of their federal statutory obligations under the Federal Railway Labor Act,” NJ Transit's complaint reads. “This concerted effort is nothing more than a schematic plan strategically designed by BLE to put pressure on NJT in collective bargaining negotiations. As a result of the BLE’s narrow minded intentions, NJT’s operations have been severally [sic] disrupted while simultaneously ravaging the lives of hundreds of thousands of NJT passengers whose lives depend on NJT’s reliability.”

With reporting by Michelle Rotuno-Johnson.