State’s Largest Labor Organization and Transit Workers’ Union Endorses Corporate Transit Fee to Fund New Jersey Transit

TRENTON — Calling on corporations to pay their fair share to support New Jersey Transit, the New Jersey State AFL-CIO, and the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), representing nearly 10,000 New Jersey Transit drivers, mechanics, and operational staff, announced their support for Governor Murphy’s proposal to place a fee on corporations earning over $10 million in profits to provide critical funding to New Jersey Transit.

The proposed Corporate Transit Fee would direct around $1 billion in funding to the transit agency from primarily large out-of-state corporations, providing much-needed funding and ensuring a long-term revenue source for New Jersey Transit.

“New Jersey Transit has never had dedicated funding, and there is no more appropriate source than the billion-dollar corporations profiting off of the state’s workers,” said New Jersey State AFL-CIO President Charlie Wowkanech. “New Jersey Transit is the economic lifeblood of our state, with hundreds of thousands of residents dependent on its transportation services.”

“The Corporate Transit Fee is a no-brainer, and we applaud Governor Murphy for this proposal,” said ATU International President John Costa. “Our thousands of members at New Jersey Transit help safely move New Jerseyans where they need to go and keep an aging vehicle fleet operating smoothly. Our members and riders deserve a true state commitment to funding our transit system. Huge multinational corporations should not be getting a tax cut while New Jersey Transit stares down an $800 million deficit that will mean service cuts and worse quality for our riders.”

“Our members work hard every day to keep the system running smoothly, but failure to fully fund New Jersey Transit with the Corporate Transit Fee would make that task almost impossible,” said ATU New Jersey State Council Chair Orlando Riley. “The system has been chronically underfunded for decades, and the big businesses that have seen record profits in recent years should be paying to support the workers who make their profits possible.”

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