NJ Transit, BLET meet with National Mediation Board

New Jersey Transit and Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) officials both agreed to continue discussions about a labor contract for the transit agency's locomotive engineers, the National Mediation Board (NMB) announced yesterday.

BLET members last month rejected a tentative eight-year contract with NJ Transit, setting off a month-long countdown to a potential strike or lockout beginning just after midnight on May 16. The parties' main disagrement is over annual wages for locomotive engineers, who haven't had a salary increase in six years, BLET officials said yesterday in a press release.

Meanwhile, after yesterday's meeting with BLET and NMB, NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri said the discussion was "constructive," without providing details.

If a strike or lockout occurs, the NJ Transit rail system would be halted, agency officials said.