NJ Transit strike has its roots in the hapless MTAs Metro-North and LIRR labor contracts

New Jersey commuters awoke to a travel nightmare Friday as NJ Transit engineers went on strike in pursuit of a windfall wage hike.And so just 450 workers are slamming the 100,000 or so riders who rely on the railroad to get to and from their jobs.Worse, by their union’s reckoning the demand is for a near 50% raise: The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen claims its members earn an average of $113,000, yet they’re holding out for $170,000 — arguing that they should be on par with their Metro-North and LIRR peers.NJT calculates that the average (including overtime) is $135,000 now, which still means the demand is for a hike above 25% — even though the railroad is already running in the red (just like the state budget).

And NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri is worried not simply about the cost of meeting the Brotherhood’s demands, but the certainty that the other NJT unions will insist on matching pay increases, backed by their own strike threats: “financial doom,” he calls it.That would add up to $1.3 billion in new costs, forcing a fare hike of at least 17% on the heels of last year’s hefty jump in ticket prices. “What the people of New Jersey need right now is for the members to meet their obligations to the public,” fumed Gov.Phil Murphy.

Good luck with that, Phil — and so much for all your vows to finally straighten out NJ Transit.To be fair, the railroad could point fingers at the MTA, which for years (under orders from New York politicians) has handed hefty wage hikes to the unions representing Metro-North and Long Island Railroad workers without winning work-rule changes or other productivity gains.But that doesn’t make the Jersey union’s demands any less outrageous.It’s a contest of wills now: Will Murphy fold (and so hand the headaches on to the successor to be elected this fall), or find a way to rally enough public support to stare down the Brotherhood’s blackmail?...