New Jersey Assemblywoman Victoria Flynn and Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger condemned the NJ Transit strike that has paralyzed rail service statewide, warning it marks the beginning of another “summer of hell.”
“We are on the verge of yet another summer of hell for NJ Transit riders in Monmouth County – this time, with a full-blown strike that should have been avoided at all costs,” Flynn, R-Monmouth, said in a release. “These contracts should have been settled years ago. There’s no excuse for allowing negotiations to drag on to the brink of a shutdown.”
More than 500 locomotive engineers walked off the job early Friday morning amid a contract dispute that NJ Transit has allowed to linger for over five years. The lawmakers said NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri was “placed in an untenable position to negotiate at the eleventh hour, with a strike looming.”
They also criticized the Murphy administration’s fiscal 2026 budget proposal, which includes a $902.5 million operating subsidy for NJ Transit, an increase of $757.5 million over last year, funded partly by reviving the corporate business tax.
“New Jersey’s most successful employers are being targeted to bail out NJ Transit, while riders are being asked to pay more for worse service,” Scharfenberger, R-Monmouth, said in a release. “They already faced a 15% fare hike last year and now face automatic increases every July, starting with another 3% hike just weeks away.”
They called the strike a direct threat to working families, small businesses and the state economy.
“This is the result of chronic mismanagement by the Murphy administration and failed leadership by Trenton Democrats,” Flynn said. “These disputes must be resolved, and commuters and taxpayers must stop being forced to foot the bill for government incompetence.”
Be the first to comment