Commuters are urged to take notice - engineers who run the trains for New Jersey Transit could go on strike on May 16. That date was set after union membership recently voted down a tentative contract with transit.

New Jersey Transit says the union recently turned down their latest offer, which would have bumped the average salary to $172,000 by 2027.

However, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen is looking for more, considering they haven’t had a raise since 2019. The union added that the base salary for an engineer is $89,000.

NJ Transit has countered that if they give the union what it wants, fares will go up by 17% and the Corporate Transit Fee will rise by 27%.

This number got the attention of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, which is waiting for the Corporate Transit Fee, which is paid by New Jersey employers, to sunset in five years.

“What they are looking for, as we objectively understand, is something that is not reasonable,” said Michele Siekerka, president of the NJBIA. “We can’t be banking and using that money on operations such as those salaries. That money right now in the short course needs to go to investment in transit.”

A strike would have a major impact on commuters, who would have to figure out how to get to work either by car, commuter bus or PATH train.

The last time engineers went on strike was in 1983.