India, May 16 -- Train engineers at New Jersey Transit walked off the job just after midnight Friday. This marks the nation's third-largest commuter railroad operator strike at the agency since 1983 and follows six years of contract negotiations that ultimately hit a wall.

With no agreement on wages, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) made good on its strike threat. "NJ Transit has a half-billion dollars for a swanky new headquarters and $53 million for decorating the interior of that unnecessary building. They have money for penthouse views and pet projects, just not for their front-line workers. Enough is enough. We will stay out until our members receive the fair pay that they deserve," Mark Wallace, the union...