NJ Transit's rail workers union calls latest contract offer 'utterly unacceptable'

The union representing New Jersey Transit's rail workers calls the agency's latest contract offer "utterly unacceptable."

NJ Transit has offered unionized rail workers a 10-percent pay increase over 7.5 years. But that raise would be offset by a big increase in health insurance costs.

The offer was made to an emergency board that was appointed by President Barack Obama to avoid a transit strike.

The Record (http://bit.ly/1IiJUap ) newspaper reports the unions have demanded a 17-percent pay raise over six years, plus a cap limiting health care expenses to two percent of each employee's weekly pay before overtime.

A New Jersey Transit spokeswoman declined to discuss the negotiations.

NJ Transit's rail employees have worked more than four years without a new contract.

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Information from: The Record (Woodland Park, N.J.), http://www.northjersey.com