For the first time in 40 years, 350,000 people were affected as the New Jersey Transit Corporation faced a strike.

Due to the failure of both labor and management to reach a new labor agreement before the deadline, engineers of the New Jersey commuter railroad went on strike in the early hours of the 16th local time. As the third largest public transportation provider in the United States, this strike is the first in forty years for New Jersey Transit. The engineers' union organizing the strike stated that due to the management representatives withdrawing from negotiations on the evening of the 15th, the union had to organize the strike. The strike began at 12:00 am local time on the 16th. According to New Jersey Transit, after the strike began, its subsidiary railroad system was "safely shut down," and no new trains would be operated, but trains in transit would be stopped after completing their journey. Following the start of the strike, New Jersey Transit issued a notice stating that they had increased capacity on existing bus routes and advised people to work from home. New Jersey Governor Murphy stated at a press conference on the 16th that the strike had affected more than 350,000 people's travel, saying "things should not have escalated to this point." Also attending the press conference, New Jersey Transit CEO Corluri expressed concern about the company's long-term financial situation, stating that if they fully meet the union's demands, the company would fall into a "financial death spiral."