Latest news with #NJTransitStrike
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NYC Bankers Who Live in NJ Game Out Commute as Rail Strike Upends RTO Plans
(Bloomberg) -- The initiative by banks and other employers in New York to bring back workers to the office is being undermined by an unexpected roadblock in a neighboring state. How a Highway Became San Francisco's Newest Park America, 'Nation of Porches' Power-Hungry Data Centers Are Warming Homes in the Nordics Maryland's Credit Rating Gets Downgraded as Governor Blames Trump NJ Transit Train Engineers Strike, Disrupting Travel to NYC As the strike by New Jersey Transit locomotive engineers loomed over Monday's commute, Garden State residents were eager for updates on negotiations as they mulled options for getting to work in Manhattan if trains remain shut down. NJ Transit officials and the union representing its rail engineers said that unscheduled talks Saturday in Newark went well. More talks were being held Sunday. Financial firms including Deutsche Bank AG, Citigroup Inc., Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Credit Agricole SA and CastleOak Securities told many of their employees that they could work from home or local offices, according to people familiar with the situations, though traders and some other roles were often exceptions. The leeway offered a partial reprieve from return-to-office policies that were gaining momentum five years after the Covid-19 pandemic upended working patterns. But traveling within the US's most populous metro area promises to be chaotic as long as the walkout continues, and anyone with a pied-à-terre in Manhattan or generous friends or family with a couch to crash on were counting their lucky stars. Shuttered NJ Transit train service has led to jammed buses, light-rail cars and PATH service, as well as surge pricing on Uber, as commuters sought alternatives. Service has also been suspended to MetLife Stadium, creating headaches and enormous ride-share bills for fans of the singer Shakira, who performed Thursday and Friday evenings. 'For some folks, not having a train option and having hundreds of thousands of people try to commute via bus or ferry or car will clog alternate routes,' CastleOak said in a memo to employees. 'We are asking everyone to exercise their best judgment on commuting.' JPMorgan Chase & Co., where Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon has been a fierce advocate of in-person work, advised employees to work with managers to figure out strike plans. Anyone who works remotely should log an 'approved working from home - personal circumstance' code, according to a memo sent Friday. One JPMorgan employee who lives in New Jersey, who asked not to be identified because he wasn't authorized to comment publicly, was told by a manager that parking fees wouldn't be covered for those who drove into the office, as he had planned to do. That meant he had to look at alternatives, such as Boxcar — a private bus service that has routes from the state to New York City — something he hadn't considered before. Comments that Dimon made just last week are adding pressure on JPMorgan workers to find a way in. 'I completely applaud your right to not want to go to the office every day, but you're not going to tell JPMorgan what to do,' Dimon said in a Bloomberg Television interview, before the strike started. A JPMorgan representative declined to comment. A resident of upscale Short Hills, New Jersey, who works at hedge fund Millennium booked a Boxcar bus trip to work Monday and will likely stay over at friends in Brooklyn and not go home to his wife and kids to avoid a lengthy back and forth commute each day. In credit markets, where debt sales have roared back to life as tariff tensions ease, banks gave guidance to staff. As of late Friday, Deutsche Bank encouraged those living in New Jersey who are eligible to work from home to do so, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. One MUFG employee who resides in New Jersey said a manager gave permission to work from home. An employee at Credit Agricole got the option to work at home or the bank's NJ office. Representatives for MUFG and Credit Agricole didn't respond to requests for comment. Representatives for Deutsche Bank declined to comment. A representative for CastleOak didn't respond to a request for comment. A Citigroup official said employees whose jobs can be performed remotely didn't need to come into the office during the strike. Danny Wild, a senior coordinator for digital operations at Major League Baseball's Manhattan office, said he was looking forward to the strike to have an excuse to avoid coming into the office from Rockland County, New York, five days a week. He received an email Friday telling him to stay home because of the stoppage. He's loving it for now, but also worried: If the strike continues, his employer has asked workers to consider other options. 'There are no good options,' he said. 'I was humoring myself looking at Uber prices if I wanted to go in: basically $100 plus tax and tip.' Social media had other examples of workers cheering on the strike so they could avoid commuting. In the 10 largest US cities, the number of workers who went to the office was 53% of pre-Covid-19 levels in the week ended May 7, according to data from Kastle Systems. 'I only have to go into the office 2 days per week & I am really praying for a long & protracted NJ Transit rail strike so I can get that down to 0 for as long as possible,' an account with the handle FrankInGeneral posted on X. But those who have gotten used to the post-pandemic rhythm of commuting into the office everyday have been left frustrated. Matt Kritzberg, 24, who works in tech sales and commutes from New Jersey to New York City for his job via NJ Transit trains, says he's concerned about productivity when working from home. 'A huge part of my job is collaborating with people,' he said. 'As someone who's in a new role and who wants to go the extra mile, rather than being the guy who's there five days a week, I'm working from home. It doesn't feel like a good look.' --With assistance from Jeannine Amodeo, Rthvika Suvarna, Gowri Gurumurthy and Nacha Cattan. Why Apple Still Hasn't Cracked AI Microsoft's CEO on How AI Will Remake Every Company, Including His Cartoon Network's Last Gasp DeepSeek's 'Tech Madman' Founder Is Threatening US Dominance in AI Race As Nuclear Power Makes a Comeback, South Korea Emerges a Winner ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NJ Transit strike demands: President says agency is 'ready to meet this moment'
NEW YORK - Commutes have grown increasingly difficult across New Jersey and New York as tens of thousands of riders scramble for alternatives amid the ongoing NJ Transit strike. After talks on Saturday, negotiations stalled again, leaving commuters to face continued disruptions as the strike enters its second day. The backstory Train engineers walked off the job on Friday, affecting more than 300,000 daily rail passengers and prompting agency leaders to activate contingency plans ahead of what could be a prolonged and challenging week. Drivers and bus riders are bearing the brunt of the strike, dealing with crowded lines, longer waits, and gridlocked roads that have sparked widespread frustration throughout the region. NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri says negotiations will resume Sunday and Monday with the goal of reaching a deal and restoring reliable service—but for now, uncertainty lingers, and commuters should prepare for ongoing difficulties. "We're going to meet the union today. We're going to meet them tomorrow," Kolluri said. "All with this goal of getting to a deal so we can get them back to work, get our customers the reliable service they need." NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri SKIP TO: NJ Transit CEO | What do they want? | When will it end? | Alternate routes During a Sunday press conference, NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri defended the agency's handling of the crisis and said negotiations with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) will resume Monday. What they're saying He pointed to the agency's response during Saturday night's Shakira concert at MetLife Stadium as a success, noting that despite no train service, NJ Transit helped move concertgoers smoothly using a coordinated network of buses. "We're going to meet the union today. We're going to meet them tomorrow," Kolluri said. "All with this goal of getting to a deal so we can get them back to work, get our customers the reliable service they need." Kolluri pointed to the agency's response to Saturday night's Shakira concert at MetLife Stadium as a demonstration of its preparedness. Kolluri said within 45 minutes of the concert ending, NJ Transit had "quietly but efficiently moved every single person that wanted to get on a bus out of there." He called it "a testament to calm, quiet but very efficient planning and execution." Kolluri acknowledged some overcrowding on bus lines since the strike began Friday, but said NJ Transit's deployment of extra buses helped ease the pressure. The backstory The engineers' union has been without a new contract since 2019. The BLET says its members currently earn an average of $113,000 and want that raised to $170,000. NJ Transit disputes those numbers, stating that total compensation for engineers averages $135,000, with top earners making more than $200,000. Kolluri reiterated the agency's position that it is seeking a contract that is "fair and fiscally responsible." "Fair wages is their position, which I respect," he said. "Not breaking the bank is our position, and they should respect that." He warned against making long-term financial commitments NJ Transit can't sustain. "We will not make a decision on a labor contract that will leave the next governor a mess to clean. We will not be SEPTA. We will not be any of those transit agencies that are in a death spiral financially because of bad decisions." To help alleviate the disruption, NJ Transit is offering expanded bus service and park-and-ride options starting Monday: The other in Hamilton will bring riders to Newark, where they can get on PATH trains. The fourth location at Woodbridge Center Mall will take commuters to the Harrison PATH station. NJ Transit posted a contingency plan on their website. One aspect of the plan includes adding limited capacity to existing New York commuter bus routes. However, even with the plan, the agency estimates it can only carry 20% of current rail customers. The routes that will be affected include: Northeast Corridor: 108, 112, 115 and 129 bus routes. Northeast Corridor: 108, 112, 115 and 129 bus routes. North Jersey Coast Line: 116 and 133/135 bus routes. Raritan Valley Line: 112 and 113 bus routes. Morris & Essex Lines: 107 bus routes. Montclair-Boonton Lines: 193 and 324 bus routes. Main/Bergen County Lines: 145, 163, 164 and 190 bus routes. Pascack Valley Line: 163, 164 and 165 bus routes. Private bus operator Boxcar has also launched an emergency commuter service from select New Jersey towns with guaranteed seating. Meanwhile, Metro-North Railroad is cross-honoring NJ Transit's Port Jervis and Pascack Valley Line tickets on its Hudson and Harlem lines. Kolluri closed Sunday's press conference with a promise to stay at the negotiating table. "What you're going to see me do today, after I leave here, is go back to the negotiating table," he said. "We're going to be calm, we're going to be mission-focused, and we're going to try and get to a deal that is fair and fiscally responsible."
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Commuters affected by NJ Transit strike struggle: ‘It's a mess'
NEW YORK (PIX11) — 'It's a hassle, it's a mess,' Said James Robinson, who's been commuting into New York City for work by train for more than three decades and is over the NJ transit engineers' strike that has impacted about 350,000 commuters. For James, taking the bus into Manhattan on Friday morning was far from a pleasant experience. More Local News 'This is ridiculous that people have to travel like this, I had to stand on a bus for about 40 mins coming. The bus after a while had to stop picking up people. One of the buses I normally catch didn't even show up,' added Robinson. The union representing the engineers claims the company is refusing to offer them competitive salaries 'Every single NJT employee, every single union employee is paid less than their counterpart at other area passenger railroads,' stated Tom Hass, BELT General Chairman. NJ Governor Phil Murphy argued that NJ transit engineers get paid roughly the same hourly rate as their counterparts. The head of NJ Transit says it's about being financially responsible and stable. 'This is not about giving them a fair wage. It's about how do you do it in a fiscally responsible manner that doesn't bankrupt NJT and puts it on a death spiral,' said Kris Kolluri. As negotiations are scheduled to resume on Sunday, James feels neither NJ Transit nor the workers on strike are thinking about customers like him. 'When does this end? They need to come to a resolution this weekend so everybody can get back to a normal life as far as traveling,' Concluded Robinson. Meanwhile, NJ Governor Phil Murphy stated, 'At this moment, our single highest priority is reaching a fair and affordable deal as soon as humanly possible.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
New York Times
16-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Boxcar, a Private Bus Company, Sees Opportunity in NJ Transit Strike
On Thursday, Kevin O'Donovan, a business development associate for the private bus company Boxcar, posted an urgent direct-to-camera video to the company's Instagram account. 'We are just nonstop adding buses,' Mr. O'Donovan said. 'We are adding thousands of seats in response to a potential NJ Transit strike. And we're taking that gamble. These buses are going to be running no matter what next week.' It was one of several ways that Boxcar, which is based in Chatham, N.J., has used its online presence to take advantage of the disruption brought about by the New Jersey Transit rail strike, which began when unionized locomotive engineers walked off the job after midnight on Friday. The company offers customers more than a dozen pickup locations in suburban New Jersey to take luxury commuter buses into Midtown Manhattan. Trips are booked with an app. Boxcar introduced a 'Strike Clock' website that included a strike-countdown widget, a 'strike odds' tracker and details about new bus lines that the company said would fill some of the gaps in the event of a walkout. Company employees have shared videos from what they call their 'situation room,' including podcast-style interviews with Boxcar's chief executive, Joe Colangelo. (Mr. Colangelo could not be reached for comment.) In a recorded conversation with Mr. Colangelo that was posted on Instagram earlier this week, Mr. O'Donovan said that Boxcar would run twice as many buses on Friday as on a typical weekday, adding thousands of seats to serve commuters. And on Thursday, Boxcar went live on Instagram to discuss the strike and take questions from customers. Mr. Colangelo founded Boxcar in 2017, when he rented out space in his driveway in Cranford, N.J., where commuters could to park their cars before catching a train to Manhattan. Within a few years, Boxcar had expanded its business by inviting commuters to book luxury buses for rides into Manhattan as a kind of middle ground between public transit and expensive black cars. During the height of the pandemic, with many white-collar employees working form home, the company shifted to other services, such as grocery delivery. According to its website, Boxcar also offers services ranging from knife sharpening to car detailing. The company has also been sending conversational emails to customers, including one on Thursday announcing expanded service to commuters in South Orange and Maplewood. 'These buses are more expensive than our normal ones,' it said, 'because we are paying a significantly higher rate per bus than normal. Even if they're full, it's likely they'll only break even, but the demand for buses right now is like nothing we've ever seen, and it's worth it to us to take the risk in order to help you with a better contingency plan.' It is unclear how many of the bus lines will continue to operate after the strike ends. Boxcar's email outreach stood in stark contrast to that of New Jersey Transit, which took a more traditional approach when communicating with its customers about the strike. 'We understand the inconvenience this may cause,' it said in an email to customers as the strike was announced just after midnight on Friday, 'and appreciate your patience and understanding as we work toward a resolution.'
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's China Tariffs Seen Staying at 30% Through Late 2025
(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump's tariffs on China will likely remain at a level expected to severely curtail Chinese exports to the US after the 90-day truce, analysts and investors say, suggesting Beijing may have to endure further economic pain despite active talks. As Coastline Erodes, One California City Considers 'Retreat Now' How a Highway Became San Francisco's Newest Park Maryland's Credit Rating Gets Downgraded as Governor Blames Trump Power-Hungry Data Centers Are Warming Homes in the Nordics NYC Commuters Brace for Chaos as NJ Transit Strike Looms US levies on Chinese products imposed this year will likely hold at 30% through late 2025, according to a Bloomberg survey. While much lower than before the thaw this week, the current rate is high enough to wipe out 70% of Chinese shipments to the world's largest economy in the medium term, Bloomberg Economics has projected. The results of the survey, conducted Wednesday and Thursday with 22 respondents, reveal a low expectation for trade negotiation to quickly undo duties Trump imposed on China during his second term. Official data due Monday are forecast to show a slowdown in China's industrial output in April as tariff threats weighed on exports, according to a separate survey. 'We expect that trade negotiations to end up in shallow surface level deals,' said Kelly Chen, an economist with DNB Bank. 'There is not enough time for the relative positions of US and China to change materially enough' before the 2026 US mid-term election that will serve as a potential deadline for a deal, she said. Highlighting the uncertainty over the countries' ability to resolve their conflict, expectations become more divided further out into the future, with seven respondents seeing tariffs dip below 30% in six months' time while six projecting higher levies. If the US and China reach a final trade agreement, the tariffs could come down to 20%, according to the median forecast. Respondents overwhelmingly predict that tariffs from Trump's first term will remain, as lowering them would be a major concession that may anger his base. Those levies average about 12%, according to estimates by Bloomberg Economics. Trump's tariff policy on Chinese goods is one of the biggest variables affecting the global economy and markets this year. Chinese assets will likely trade in a narrow range near current levels through year-end under the cloud of tariff and stimulus uncertainties, respondents said. By the end of 2025, the yuan is forecast to hold near 7.2 per dollar, the median estimate from 17 participants showed. With speculation about a Beijing-led devaluation easing, the currency may find an anchor as authorities are expected to prevent rapid capital outflows or excessive inflows. 'Good news on tariffs is also likely to tone down Chinese policy easing, suggesting a more limited upside,' said Robert Gilhooly, senior EM economist at Aberdeen Investments, who expects tariffs to settle at around 50%. 'As damage is revealed and the economy slows we expect the authorities will eventually condone an FX depreciation.' Mainland stocks may grind higher, with the CSI 300 Index potentially reaching 4000, a roughly 2% gain from Thursday's close near 3900. Early export shipments seeking to avoid tariffs could boost corporate earnings, while tech advances and structural economic shifts are also seen lending support. Chinese 10-year government bond yields may face hurdles to decline further, with the median estimate at 1.7% for this year. That would be little changed from current levels, as markets see limited impetus for a rapid fall in yields due to fading hopes for imminent policy easing. Official statistics scheduled to be released Monday morning will likely show industrial output expanded 5.9% in April from a year ago, slowing from the 7.7% gain in March, according to a regular survey of economists. Exports expansion moderated in the month, and factory activity also weakened. Retail sales likely grew at a brisk 6% in April, a slight pickup from March. Fixed-asset investment growth is forecast to hold steady at 4.3%, edging up from the prior month. Several of the respondents in the tariff survey cautioned against forecasting in the first place, given the unpredictability of Trump's tariff moves. 'Trump's first term should serve as a warning that we are not yet out of the woods and agreements are not guaranteed to hold,' said Sam Jochim, an economist at EFG Asset Management. 'Risks due to elevated uncertainty over the US's trade policy remain high.' --With assistance from Ran Li, Qizi Sun, Jing Zhao and Shulun Huang. Cartoon Network's Last Gasp DeepSeek's 'Tech Madman' Founder Is Threatening US Dominance in AI Race As Nuclear Power Makes a Comeback, South Korea Emerges a Winner Why Obesity Drugs Are Getting Cheaper — and Also More Expensive Tariffs Won't Reindustrialize America. Here's What Will ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Sign in to access your portfolio
