Congress af the United States ‘Washington, B€ 20515 February 17,2016 Mr, Dennis Martin Executive Director New Jersey Transit 1 Penn Plaza East Newark, NJ 7105 Dear Mr. Martin: We are writing with respec to the state of contract negotiations with the coalition of labor unions representing rail labor at New Jersey Transit (NIT) and ask that you resolve ths dispute as ‘quickly as possible to avoid unnecessary service disruption. New Jersey Transit provides for almost 300,000 day rail passenger trips. Whether riders are oing to work, tothe doctor, oF othe grocery store, the service provided by NJT isa vital access point for thousands in the regional economy. IPservice disruption occurs the people andthe sonomy of New Jersey would be dealt a major blow. Commuters into New York or Hoboken or Paterson or Atlantic City could find themselves stranded, atleast temporarily. And those without aveess f other means of transportation would surely suffer the most NIT should seriously consider the Presidential Fmergeney Board (PEB) 249 proposal, authored by a neutral panel of independent arbitrators appointed by the Present, as a path forward, Conyress set up a process 1 avoid a service disruption scenario by legislating additional collective bargaining procedures specifically for commuter railroads. These procedures ~ collectively knovn as Section 9a- go above and beyond the traditional processes outlined ithe Railway Labor Act. Section 9a provides for an additional PEB round to ensure a fair and reasonable offer, while also imposing stiff penalties on the party that does not agree, ‘We are sympathetic tothe financial situation of NIT, especially as our state continues to recover From Superstorm Sandy. However. after reviewing the PEB reports, we believe wo ofthe major Financial hurdles NJT has cited ~ the imposition of un excise tax on health insurance premiums, and the uncertainty of federal funding —have been addressed with Congress" recent passage of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act and the omnibus spending bil.‘The fll service stoppage of our nation’s third-largest commuter ral system is looming. Five ‘years have passed without a contract. Neutral arbitrators have provided a settlement proposal. A Ibor strike or lockout by management are both avoidable, We strongly urge NIT to resolve dispute before such disruptions can occur. Size Meonberof Cores Montero Cones Frank Pallone, Jr. Christopher H. Smith Member of Congress: ZL AWE bio Sis Thomas MacAnhur ke otcages Neer ofCorpess DomNRyae Pretty a ober atapee Monier of Conpes tails Member of Congress