I am Stephen J. Burkert, General Chairman for SMART TD. My union represents the Conductors, Assistant Conductors and Ticket Collectors that work for NJ TRANSIT Rail Division. I have been employed as a NJ Transit conductor for 30 years. I pride myself on being an advocate for my Members as well as our passengers.
The past few weeks have been extremely difficult for anyone who has had to travel or work on our transit system. I write this letter hoping to clarify truthful statements and to dispel what has been falsely put out to you, the passengers, via radio, newspapers or television.
I do not condone annulled trains for any reason unless there is an emergency situation involving a safety issue. I completely understand the passengers frustration in standing on a platform waiting for a train to arrive and then being told over the Public Address system it is annulled. I understand the financial impact on already strained paychecks for cabs, Ubers and extended daycare, not to mention the time lost with your families at home.
I would like to begin with “crew shortages” and annulled trains. It was recently attributed that trains were annulled due to conductors not being available, this statement is NOT TRUE. The shortage of engineers is why trains were annulled. Without an engineer to operate the train locomotive there cannot be service. Annulments were not caused by a lack of availability of the men and women in uniform on our trains. The engineer shortage is a direct result of NJ Transit being underfunded for the last 8 years.
The Federal Railroad Administration places work rules on both of our crafts that are similar to pilots or truck drivers. In the past we were allowed to work trains in an unlimited string of days without a rest day. The recent rule change dictates that rest days must be taken. NJ Transit lacked the funds to hire conductors and engineers to make up the short fall, thus there is a shortage of employees and more train annulments. The training program for both positions are similar in duration, 2 years, and due to recent increased funding by Governor Murphy and the State Legislature more classes are projected. I work alongside NJ Transit within the training program. We are working together to make improvements for future employees.
The train conductors DO NOT choose which trains will run service and which trains will be annulled. I understand that waiting for the next train is inconvenient as it will be more crowded, but yelling your complaints at the crew when the door opens is misplaced. They are ordered by NJ Transit supervisors to work those trains, they have no power in the decision. The train crew is placed in a position to transport the passengers safely from point A to point B, while picking up double the amount of passengers. The crews are trying to accomplish this with as little added disruption as possible while being courteous to irate passengers. The reason trains are short coaches or annulled completely, due to mechanical issues, has to do with spare parts. The last 8 years of underfunding has left NJ Transit’s spare parts bins empty. If there had been more money allotted for spare parts we would all be in a much better state of affairs today.
The train crews are ordered to collect revenue whether the train in front of them was annulled or late. If your train is delayed for mechanical issues they are still required by NJ Transit to collect revenue. The train crews are NOT empowered to issue refunds. Train crews who have tried to appease passengers and not charge fares for a delayed train are brought up on disciplinary charges. If a passenger refuses to pay a fare, NJ Transit rules dictate the police must be called. Again, I understand the frustration of paying a fare for a service you deem inferior, but you are placing the blame on a train crew member who is only trying to do the job they are required to perform. Crews are required to work overtime, and many of my members do, some in excess of 70 hours a week, many assignments have over-time built into them and most employees do work on their scheduled days off to provide service for our passengers.
It has been published that train crews are responsible for trains that are short coaches, that statement is FALSE. The crews report to work for their shift and are directed to a train set which will be used on that day. The crew does not get to pick which trains have more or less coaches.
The train crew is NOT responsible for mechanical issues or malfunctions. I can assure you we are not responsible for the overflowing toilets and we are just as inconvenienced as you, if not more so. We have had crews stuck with those overflowing toilets for over 6 hours. The train crew has no input when there are zero toilets in a train set. Crews will try their best to fix a minor malfunction if they are able, but we are not trained mechanics.
Passengers have taken to social media when service disruptions have occured looking for solutions. They have received advice from NJ Transit Customer Service that may have been misunderstood or incorrect. The conductors are given direction from their train supervisors who are not customer service representatives. I am working with NJ Transit to insure that the messages or responses that are given to passengers via social media are correct in substance and comply with the rules and regulations that trains crews must abide by while working.
While passengers are justified in expressing their displeasure over NJ Transit in recent weeks, they are never justified when anger is directed toward train crews. Recently crews have been verbally assaulted and passengers have spit on them. Two female crew members have been physically thrown off their trains for no other reason than a male passenger was angry. Conductors are being assaulted and have been transported to hospitals for serious injuries. The train crew is there to insure your safety, it is a top priority while you are on our system, they do not deserve to be a crime victim for showing up to do their assigned jobs.
I look forward to discussing the Atlantic City Rail Line suspension with NJ Transit in the near future. I will certainly offer my assistance and past knowledge to Executive Director Corbett. If the suspension can be avoided completely or reduced in duration it would be extremely beneficial to my members and those passengers who reside and work in South Jersey and the Philadelphia area.
I hope this letter clarifies some recent events. I will continue in my efforts to return NJ Transit back to a top notch transportation system that the passengers deserve.
Thank you,
Stephen J. Burkert
General Chairman
SMART TD LOCAL 60
