Establishing an Emergency Board To Investigate a Dispute Between New Jersey Transit Rail Operations and Its Locomotive Engineers Represented by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen
Establishes a three-member emergency board to investigate a labor dispute between New Jersey Transit Rail Operations and its locomotive engineers, requiring a report to the President within 30 days and freezing working conditions for 120 days while the board works.
What this order does
What it orders
The order creates an emergency board, effective July 25, 2024, composed of a presidentially appointed chair and two members, to investigate and report on the unresolved labor dispute between New Jersey Transit Rail Operations and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. The board must deliver its findings to the President within 30 days of creation, after which it terminates. For 120 days from the board's creation, neither party may change the conditions that gave rise to the dispute without mutual agreement.
The order does not resolve the underlying dispute or impose any contract terms; it sets a mandatory investigation and reporting process under the Railway Labor Act. Records of the board are designated as Office of the President records and will be transferred to the National Mediation Board upon the board's termination.
Who it affects
New Jersey Transit Rail Operations management and the locomotive engineers it employs who are represented by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, plus the presidentially appointed board members who conduct the investigation.
Why it matters
The 120-day status quo freeze prevents either side from taking unilateral action — such as a strike or lockout — during the investigation window, keeping NJ Transit rail service operating while federal mediation proceeds. The board's report may inform further negotiations or congressional action.
What must happen and when
How the order is supposed to work
The President appoints all three board members; no member may have a financial or organizational interest in a railroad or rail-labor group. The board reports within 30 days and dissolves upon submission. Separately, a 120-day standstill runs from the board's creation date, legally barring either party from changing the disputed conditions without consent. Board records transfer to the National Mediation Board for custody after termination. The order has no enforcement mechanism beyond the RLA's existing legal framework.
Actions and deadlines
- Emergency board begins operating and investigating the NJ Transit labor dispute
- Board reports to the President on the dispute findings
- Parties must maintain status quo conditions without unilateral changes