Listen: BLET Talks NJ Transit Deal/Civil Service Solidarity/And More!

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By Bob Hennelly

The Teamsters Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen (BLET) have won their strike and reached a tentative agreement with NJ Transit that reflects a better deal than the one that management walked away from Thursday night. Of  course, rank and file members have to ratify it.

On this episode of “What’s Going On?” we  speak with General Chairman Tom Haas of the Teamsters Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen (BLET)  who leads the NJ Transit bargaining. He is joined by Chris Silvera, Teamsters Local 808, which represents MetroNorth track workers.

CNN is reporting Moody's Ratings has downgraded  US government debt. The move is likely to rattle financial markets and push up interest rates, potentially creating an additional financial burden for Americans families facing the rising cost of living. Local, county, state and tribal governments will also take a hit as the cost of borrowing crowds out essential priorities.

Of the three major credit rating agencies, Moody’s was the last holdout, maintaining its outstanding rating of AAA for US debt. Moody’s held a perfect credit rating for the United States since WW I.

Meanwhile, The Verge is reporting Verizon’s massive $20 billion deal to buy the fiber internet provider Frontier has gotten FCC approval after the telecom giant committed to ending diversity, equity and inclusion related practices, according to a statement by FCC Chair Brendan Carr. Verizon  expects to bring fiber to 1 million homes each year following the acquisition. 

We discuss these stories and more with James Henry, Yale Global Justice Fellow, economist, lawyer and investigative journalist. He’s joined by Dr. Joe Wilson, labor historian, union consultant and biographer of A. Philip Randolph, the iconic civil rights and labor leader.

In the second hour of our get together we convene our New York City civil service roundtable in the age of the Trump/Musk regime where we discuss the need for solidarity with the federal civil service which  is under assault by the Trump/Musk junta. Joe Puleo, DC 37 Local 983 and Vinnie Variale, president of DC 37 Local 3621,  FDNY EMS officers, join Firefighter Regina Wilson, former president of the Vulcan Society and a vice-president with the International Association of Black Professional Firefighters.

We close out with our New Jersey environmental activist panel for updates on how the Garden State, home to more Superfund sites than any other state, is responding to the climate crisis amidst the Trump regime's decimation of agencies like the EPA and the National Weather Service. 

Topics include the status of the Passaic Valley Sewerage Authority’s proposed power plant and the controversial $11 billion NJ Turnpike Extension and expansion at The Holland Tunnel approach.

We hear from Chloe Desir Environmental Justice Policy Analyst for Ironbound Community Corporation; Paula Rogovin, social and climate justice activist; and  Talya Schwartz, from OpenPlans and vice chair of Hudson County Complete Streets.

Listen to the entire show below: