The impending New Jersey Transit strike had a standoff Friday, a full 24 hours before the trains were supposed to ground to a halt, when the workers' lead negotiator agreed to a concession.
The negotiations went down to a final issue: whether workers' pay increases will be retroactive for those who have recently retired.
Earlier, the 4,200 workers represented by the unions threatened to stop work which will shut down the major link between New Jersey and New York City. NYC could lose millions each day if employees from NJ can't commute to their offices in the city.
Transit workers have been laboring under a new contract for approximately five years. They are pitted with a Republican governor who is infamous in his defiant stance against labor leaders and is projecting the image of a protector of taxpayers.
But even before the word even left the lead negotiator's mouth, elected officials and transportation advocates were already celebrating.
"Averted! All of New Jersey just breathed a big sigh of relief," exclaimed Stephanie Lurie in her tweet shortly after the news of the standoff. She is the Editor at Large of Disney-Hyperion at Disney Publishing Worldwide.
Gov. Chris Christie, at last Friday's press conference, stated that the deal was "fair and reasonable" and had put the fare payers' and tax payers' interest above everything. But he declined to divulge the terms of the agreement until the NJ transit workers had the chance to look at it for themselves.
"I never felt we were all that close to a strike, from a realistic point of view," said Christie. "I knew the hours got closer but, no matter how hard we try, we can't stop time," he added.
Stephen Sweeney, Senate President D-Gloucester praised the negotiators on reaching an agreement before an economically damaging transport shutdown took place.
