Natalie Migliore, WOR Reporter Interview

Mendte in the Morning sent Natalie Migliore out on the street to talk to commuters about how they feel about the looming NJ Transit strike.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now it's seventen wrs Beat on the Street with Natalie Migliori.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
Will New Jersey Transit engineers go on strike Friday? And
will New Jersey Transit trains basically be shut down? More importantly,
what are riders going to do? Well? Natalie Migliori talked
to them in her Beat on the Street Natalie, good morning.

Speaker 3 (00:26):
Good morning, Larry. Well, NJ Transit won't really say if
it's any closer to reaching a DLS Friday's deadline for
a train engineer strike nears. The National Mediation Board came
into the picture on Monday, with NJ Transit President and
CEO Chris Glory saying discussions were constructive, but he's keeping
a lot of details close to the vast But Larry,

(00:48):
you wouldn't know that engineers might be going on strike
if you talk to this morning's train riders.

Speaker 4 (00:54):
I heard briefly about it, but to be honest, I
haven't really done much to prepare.

Speaker 5 (00:58):
Listen, I I don't know. I haven't even haven't been
tried to cross that bridge yet. Ultimately, it would just
have I'd have to be at the Mercy on New
Jersey tryaningsit.

Speaker 1 (01:08):
I hope it doesn't happen because I don't have a
plan b I work out in New Jersey. I'm a
New Yorker. I don't know no car, So I'm a
little bit like, we'll cross that bridge when we get
to it. I'm really hoping they sort things out because
it's going to be a mess for a whole lot
of people.

Speaker 3 (01:23):
Well, there's a lot of people on that bridge. Larry.
Two people use that same saying, and I approach them
within minutes of each other, not even listening to each other.
But they're all crossing the bridge when they get to it.
If a deal isn't reached on wages, engineers are threatening
to walk off the job this Friday and what would
be the state's first randed strike in more than four decades.

(01:44):
If a strike does come to fruitions, Glory says additional
buses would be able to accommodate about twenty percent of
trained commuters, forcing some people to think outside the box.

Speaker 1 (01:55):
I think what we'll have to do is figure out
car pools of other people who work in the same
area who have cars. I think also our management is
aware of it.

Speaker 4 (02:05):
I know a lot of people don't really have the option.
Other than public transportation. Maybe the path would be an
option for some people going to certain parts of Jersey.
So yeah, I can ride in with my colleagues, drive
in from Brooklyn.

Speaker 5 (02:16):
I'm on the way to pick up my car right now,
so I wouldn't even have to worry about it.

Speaker 1 (02:20):
Well, I will ask to work from home. Yes, I'm
not going to go into the train station if there
is a strike.

Speaker 3 (02:26):
And that's exactly what End Transit is, asking people to
do work from home if it's possible. Some commuters say
that's actually preferred.

Speaker 4 (02:35):
I definitely prefer working from home. It's nice to not
have the long commute between the two states, but it's
good to also have an alternative when you need to.
But yeah, there's certain times where there's certain things happening
at work and you can't have that flexibility right certain
days that you can't work around. So that's when the
difficulty is going to happen.

Speaker 1 (02:51):
Luckily, we have a decent work from home policy, but
you know, you want to be I like a little
separation a church and state between where I live and
where I work. We went through co I don't want
it again, but I'm hoping that it's a little bit
more of a I don't want to say a pr tactic,
but that they'll sort.

Speaker 3 (03:08):
It out in the end. Yeah, and if they don't.
Hundreds of thousands of commuters rely on NG transit every
single day, but the ones I talk to this morning
say they don't mind a little inconvenience.

Speaker 1 (03:22):
People deserve to have good working conditions and deserve you know,
fair wage and good benefits and protection and all that
kind of stuff. So if that's what it takes for
them to get it, then you know, I'm okay to suffer.
I don't want to say suffer, but like to manage
for them to get what they need.

Speaker 5 (03:38):
Ultimately, everyone wants to make ends me and I cannot,
you know, in bad fate, really negate the work that
I dare do. And then if it requires striking for
them to get better wages for them and their families,
I'm all on board for that.

Speaker 3 (03:55):
Well, Larry, they might not be on board a train
come Friday more, but who knows either way. Shakira fans
are actually the latest to be impacted by these potential
NJ transit strikes. The agency's canceling trains and bus service
to MetLife Stadium Thursday and Friday for the concerts pending
a strike. So those are the latest impacts, Larry.

Speaker 2 (04:17):
Yeah, it was interesting. I know what the woman she
said pr move, but I'm sure that's not exactly what
she meant. Both sides, I think are exaggerating their positions,
and I use exaggerating loosely because I think that both
sides are just lying to the public. The both of
them come out with these positions that are outrageous of
what the other group, what the other side is saying,

(04:39):
and it just doesn't seem like it's true. It seems
like the answer is somewhere in the middle. As always,
I wouldn't be surprised though, as many people just said
to you that they come up with a deal by Friday.

Speaker 3 (04:52):
Let's see what happens, right, there's three sides to every story.
Your side, my side, and the truth. We'll see what
happens and we'll.

Speaker 2 (05:00):
Leave it on the truth. Thank you so much, Natalie Migliore.
Natalie will be back tomorrow morning at eight point fifty