NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- NJ Transit resumed normal operation on Saturday after three times the normal rate of engineers called out sick during a labor dispute involving days off for Juneteenth.
Listen to 1010 WINS
Commuters packed into Penn Station and scrambled to get onto the few trains that did leave for New Jersey in order to get home for Father’s Day and Juneteenth weekend.
Almost 70 trains were canceled by Friday evening.
NJ Transit blamed a dispute with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen for the delays.
“With today’s engineer call outs at nearly triple the rate of an average weekday, it is clear that this is the result of an illegal job action,” said a spokesperson for the transit agency. “NJ Transit is disappointed that the union would perpetrate such an act on the more than 100,000 commuters who depend on NJ Transit rail service every day. We intend to explore all legal remedies in response to this illegal and irresponsible action.”
The union is currently negotiating an agreement that would include Juneteenth as a paid holiday. Their current contract does not.
Related
Related
