Live Updates: New Jersey Transit Strike Leaves Commuters Scrambling
The shutdown of the New Jersey Transit rail system on Friday could inflict economic damage across the region, hurting shops and restaurants that depend on commuter spending and companies whose workers could be delayed getting to the office.
New Jersey Transit trains are a major piece of the region's commuter transit network, ferrying about 70,000 people to their jobs in New York City every workday. The agency said it would run extra buses for commuters starting Monday, but they can accommodate only about 20 percent of the daily train riders.
With delays likely, every hour that all New Jersey commuters are late arriving to work in the city could cost employers about $6 million in lost productivity, according to an analysis by the Partnership for New York City, a business advocacy group.
About half of those commuters work in high-paying industries like finance and information, the group said.
Since the last New Jersey Transit strike in 1983, many more people, including a majority of New Jersey Transit rail passengers, have gained the ability to work remotely. Many companies embraced hybrid work during the pandemic, allowing employees to split their workweek between the office and home. Fridays are the least popular day for in-person work.
The transit agency encouraged riders in the weeks before the strike to prepare to work from home. Nearly 60 percent of rail passengers have hybrid schedules, according to a survey by New Jersey Transit of its passengers a year ago.
Companies that have called their workers back to the office five days a week, including Goldman Sachs, said they had been preparing for a potential transit strike and discussing expectations for their employees, including allowing some to work from home.
Citigroup, one of the largest employers in the city, said it had allowed employees whose jobs can be performed remotely to work outside the office because of the strike. (Most Citigroup employees have hybrid arrangements.)
The economic fallout will extend beyond corporate workers and their companies, with local businesses also feeling pain.
Many New Jersey Transit rail stations are in the heart of suburban towns and surrounded by restaurants that serve commuters, and some major rail stations, such as Newark Penn Station, have coffee shops inside them. There are also numerous restaurants in Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan, the terminus for New Jersey Transit trains.
Morning commuters have provided a steady stream of business for Cait and Abby's Bakery in South Orange, N.J., since it opened 27 years ago, said Raul Saade, its owner. The bakery, next to the South Orange station, opens at 6:30 a.m. to serve passengers traveling to New York, he said.
While there are fewer commuters now than before the pandemic, Cait and Abby's serves about 100 people a day on average who buy coffee and often a pastry before they board the train, accounting for an important portion of the bakery's business, Mr. Saade said.
'If it goes on for the whole week,' Mr. Saade said of the strike, 'we are going to suffer.'
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USA Today
22 minutes ago
- USA Today
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Trying to make a lower-level employee look bad is a hallmark of an unsupportive manager. Pay attention to the ways your manager refers to you in group emails or meetings. If your boss downgrades your work or disrespects you, this is a huge red flag. 'Your manager should be someone you think of as trustworthy. They should always have your back,' Salemi says. 'Whether you're in the room or not, they sing your praises.' Some managers assume that if they're responsible for their team's failures, they should also take credit for all its successes. Not true, says Salemi. A strong leader will always try to make you look good whenever possible. 'They shine a spotlight on you when it's appropriate,' she says. 'For instance, in a meeting, especially if you're not there and their boss praises the team for its work, they'll give credit where credit is due — to you — rather than implying they did all the work themselves.' 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She suggests the following steps: Your boss may deflect, be in denial or try to gaslight you, but it's essential to remain calm. Keep an ongoing file to document the conversation in case you need to escalate it to HR or their supervisor. You'll have a record of the conversation date, topics discussed, and the outcome. You can tap human resources for help with a bad boss, but only under certain circumstances. 'If it's a discrimination issue, then absolutely go to HR,' Salemi says. 'But if it's something like your boss playing favorites, that can be viewed as more subjective.' Salemi says you might have another wildcard option as summer vacations approach. If your boss is on vacation and has delegated tasks to you, try to schedule a time on their boss's calendar to check in and provide updates so they can see your diligence and follow-through. 'It's not a one-size-fits-all approach, but it's more to get onto your boss's boss's radar screen so they can interact with you and see your hard work firsthand,' she says. When to move on from a toxic work environment While you can sometimes improve your situation in a workplace with a bad boss, you're fighting a built-in hierarchy. You cannot usually change your boss or their management style,' Salemi says. Only you know the dynamics and politics of your current job, but if you've exhausted all your options, it's time to get out. As frustrating as the situation may be, you can apply the lessons learned to your next role. "Identify the worst traits of your current boss so you can seek the opposite in your next boss,' she says. If your boss ignores you, then during your next job interview, pay attention to see how your prospective new boss listens, makes eye contact and interacts with you."
