A Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) has backed many of the proposals put forth by a coalition of 14 unions, including IAM-TCU, representing 4,300 New Jersey Transit workers embroiled in a four-year contract dispute with their employer. IAM-TCU represents approximately 1,000 New Jersey Transit workers.
The PEB recommendations on wages and health insurance contributions fall much closer to the terms proposed by the Rail Labor Coalition than New Jersey Transit. Coalition proposals were appropriately based on settlements in the commuter industry, while the company’s unprecedented reliance on a state worker concessionary contract was not persuasive, the PEB found.
Click here for a detailed summary of the PEB’s recommendations.
“The Presidential Emergency Board, composed of three veteran, distinguished neutrals, has proposed terms that represent a reasonable compromise approach to settlement,” the Rail Labor Coalition said in a statement. “We sincerely hope that New Jersey Transit will now take this opportunity to bring this protracted dispute to an end.”
The coalition and New Jersey Transit have until November 12, 2015 to negotiate a voluntary agreement.
