Western Railroad Discussion > BNSF Hair Drug Test

OK whats the difference between a hair drug test that BNSF uses and the regular urine test that UP does. Why hair?

A urine test will only tell if you have had drugs in your system for a few days. A hair test will tell what you have had in your system for the entire life of that hair.

morail Wrote:
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> A urine test will only tell if you have had drugs
> in your system for a few days. A hair test will
> tell what you have had in your system for the
> entire life of that hair.


Memo to self: shave head two months before applying for a BNSF job, and stay off the stuff...

They shave a couple of square inches from your ankle area if you are a guy. I think women contribute from the back of their neck. Hey, you have nothing to worry about, right?

fbe Wrote:
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> They shave a couple of square inches from your
> ankle area if you are a guy. I think women
> contribute from the back of their neck. Hey, you
> have nothing to worry about, right?


Memo to self: join swimming team. Shave entire body. Then apply for BNSF job.

BobE (thankful to be gainfully employed already)

This is pretty new for BNSF hireing process, just in the last couple of years. I have heard of a young lady who shaved her entire body, head included and interviewed in Stockton. She did not get hired.

Brian

Only some drugs stay stored in bodyfat for long, pot stays the longest about one month codine about two days.
That is why hair testing is here to stay.

why would anyone want to go to work for the railraod with substance abuse issues. if someone has the need to dodge or try and dodge a drug test, this indicates a predispostion to drug activity. the railroad is not for you. it is a dangerous place. what makes it work is alert, responsible people on all levels of the operation. if someone has drug/alcohol issues, they should stay away from the railroad. there is too much at stake, for you, the public, your fellow workers. go be an artist or a drunk novelist.

CLEAR-BLOCK Wrote:
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> why would anyone want to go to work for the
> railraod with substance abuse issues. if someone
> has the need to dodge or try and dodge a drug
> test, this indicates a predispostion to drug
> activity. the railroad is not for you. it is a
> dangerous place. what makes it work is alert,
> responsible people on all levels of the operation.
> if someone has drug/alcohol issues, they should
> stay away from the railroad. there is too much at
> stake, for you, the public, your fellow workers.
> go be an artist or a drunk novelist.

I had a job at a large mill construction location once. As part of the safety testing and training, was a drug test. While I was at the office waiting to take my test, a supervisor came in and said instead of a urine test, he was sending one of the applicants up the hill to the clinic to take a blood test. I didn't hear the rest, but I later found out, the guy had actually shown up drunk for the session. This was someone that was hiring on to operate a large overhead crane. Just made me shudder thinking about it.

Craig

Why ? Because they are fouled up on drugs and they don't see this as a problem. They will also not see you just before they run over you and wonder what that 'bump' was. No, they won't even notice the 'bump', not that much 'attention' left in them.

They do this all the time. In some places in the country, 9 out of 10 applicants for jobs test positive and they will try it again next week at another place.

Why? because druggies will try to get RR jobs because they like the R (just like many here) and/or they need a job because they haen't yet reached the point where a life of thievery looks easy enough to try and they aren't finding or keeping other joba. Thinking about the short or long term consequences is not a primary attribute of drug abusers or they wouldn't haave started abusing in the first place.

I remember going through the interview process and the drug screen came up. The lady says "hair samples will be taken". Then we went to a break. 10 people got up and left!

With all the random testing the railroad does, a substance abuser doesn't last long. THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THE RAILROAD FOOLS AROUND WITH. You are given 1 infraction of testing positive in 10 years. You typically get laid off for 30, 60, or 90 days. You next one YOU'RE FIRED! This includes having just one beer a few hours before work.

Pinlifter Wrote:
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> With all the random testing the railroad does, a
> substance abuser doesn't last long. THIS IS NOT
> SOMETHING THE RAILROAD FOOLS AROUND WITH. You are
> given 1 infraction of testing positive in 10
> years. You next one YOU'RE FIRED! This
> includes having just one beer a few hours before
> work.

How is having one beer on your free time considered substance abuse? What about eating broccoli, is that banned? they are both party of a healthy diet! There's a difference between abusing a substance and using a substance.
Checking hair to see what someone did a month ago seems like a poor way to decide who's fit or unfit? What about the guy who stays up all night and comes to work dead on his feet but sober, why not test him for sleep depravation?
It seems like drug testing has changed from a safety issue to just another way for companies to add more pressure to their employees lives, instilling fear(of losing your job in this case if you don't live your life exactly as they prescripe) is a wearing down process that make the subject more docile and actually takes away their ability to reason, so is a detriment to safety in the long term, you end up with a bunch of incompetent robots afraid to think for themselves, all they can do is push buttons on the little box strapped on their chest and smile for the camera....dave

The industry has decided not to quibble nits about alcohol and drugs. There is no shortage of applicants so they can throw away anyone they feel may be at risk later on.

After you go through the drug test and serve your probation you can have a beer with lunch as long as you are not on duty or subject to duty. No drugs though. If they are important to you then look for a career elsewhere though there are fewer and fewer choices every day.

Hi fbe, No, I'm retired don't want a job! I was just pointing out that if they were really interested in safety they'd worry more about other things than an applicants diet and personal lifestyle! Things like letting guys get more rest and figuring out ways for them to have a better home life would be a more positive attitude. If the working conditions were better they would not only have more healthy alert workers but could also attract a more stable type of person. I don't think safety conscious individuals would want to work under those adversarial conditions and the bad feelings that creates. If your employer looks at you as a slave to their whims or as a potential criminal that they must constantly monitor then you are not likely to want to do the best job possible for them? Hiring based on those criteria can only lead to a sluggish demoralized workforce.....dave

> How is having one beer on your free time
> considered substance abuse?

Didn't mean to sound that harsh. But I was with an engineer who had 2 beers 6 hours before we got called. He pegged the breathalizer and is now off work for a while. I was trying to convey the seriousness of the random tests. I would love to sit back and take the edge off, but I never have enough time between calls to do so (unless I lay off for a while).