Steam & Excursion > "All I Know Is What I Read In The Papers."- Will Rogers

Railroad employee terrorized co-workers, lawsuit contends

By Kelsey Bray

kbray@wyomingnews.com

CHEYENNE- Working at a Cheyenne railroad shop was a living hell for employees, according to a local man's lawsuit. It says a Union Pacific Railroad manager criticized employees, referred to himself as a "dictator," played German marching songs and caused plaintiff Henry Krening so much stress he now suffers from diabetes.

The lawsuit against the railroad was filed Monday in the U.S. District Court of Wyoming. Krening is seeking an undisclosed amount of damages for intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress and negligent hiring, retention and supervision of the manager.

A representative for the railroad declined to comment on the matter.

The lawsuit says Krening was employed most recently as a foreman general at the UP Steam Locomotive Shop in Cheyenne.

Around 2005, Edgar Dickens started working there. "Not even a week into his employment as a fireman at the steam shop, Dickens started fomenting conflict and unrest among the employees and created a hostile and unsafe work environment," the suit says. "He criticized their work, attacked them personally, started rumors about them, pitted one against the other and disrupted operations."

The lawsuit says numerous informal complaints about Dickens were made to management, along with a complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity department at the railroad.

Dickens was dismissed from the shop.

Then, in 2010, Dickens was brought in to work as the senior manager of steam operations. "Immediately, Dickens picked up where he left off-criticizing and demeaning the employees at the steam shop," the lawsuit says. Krening was personally attacked or criticized by Dickens almost daily.

He wasn't the only victim. Ten employees were fired, removed, transferred or retired early. "Within two years of Dickens' employment as senior manager, there was nearly 100 percent turnover in personnel," the lawsuit says.

All l0 of the employees were older than 40. Dickens said they were part of an "old regime," and that they weren't "pretty enough" for his program. The lawsuit says Dickens called himself the dictator, and at one point played German marching songs and spoke in German with his new hires in front of Krening.

It says he created unsafe working conditions by requiring employees to work outside their areas of expertise, requiring long hours and sometimes not allowing bathroom breaks.

Several internal claims were filed against Dickens, including a sexual harassment claim.

Then, in May, Krening was hospitalized after he lost consciousness outside his house. The lawsuit says Krening's glucose levels were monitored. They would drop when he was away from work and rise at work. "... It has been determined that plaintiffs emotional distress caused by the work environment at the steam shop led to and continues to lead to uncontrolled glucose levels and electrolyte unbalances,'' the lawsuit says.

It adds that Dickens' behavior caused Krening's onset of diabetes and hyponatremia, which causes low sodium levels in the blood. As a result , he has symptoms such as excessive thirst, dizziness and muscle weakness.

After losing consciousness at work in May or June, Krening took medical leave and never came back.
Dickens’ conduct has caused emotional troubles, such as depression and anxiety, as well as economic losses for Krening, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit says UP knew the harm Dickens was causing and is liable for damages. Krening requested a jury trial in the matter.

From: Wyoming Tribune Eagle
Wednesday, December 18, 2013 - Page A5

See also:

http://ngdiscussion.net/phorum/read.php?1,255888



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/19/13 19:07 by CA_Sou_MA_Agent.

Wow, that sounds bad. Anytime, the turn-over sky rockets under a new manager, that is a red flag, and UP should know it. I would bet the turn-over was very low in that department before Dickens came along. Another red flag that should have gotten attention is the steam program's accidents.

Bad isn't a strong enough word.

Seems that some peoples' Superman is not all he
is cracked up to be.

Expect some to immediately attack the accuser.

From discussions with UP people NOT related to
the steam program, but who know there is a huge
problem there, there is more to be revealed.

100% turnover is a pretty sure sign this employee caused a lot of heartache among the crew.

To use an appropriate pun , where there is smoke, there is fire

CA_Sou_MA_Agent Wrote:

>
> Then, in May, Krening was hospitalized after he
> lost consciousness outside his house. The lawsuit
> says Krening's glucose levels were monitored. They
> would drop when he was away from work and rise at
> work. "... It has been determined that plaintiffs
> emotional distress caused by the work environment
> at the steam shop led to and continues to lead to
> uncontrolled glucose levels and electrolyte
> unbalances,'' the lawsuit says.
>
> It adds that Dickens' behavior caused Krening's
> onset of diabetes and hyponatremia, which causes
> low sodium levels in the blood. As a result , he
> has symptoms such as excessive thirst, dizziness
> and muscle weakness.
>
> After losing consciousness at work in May or June,
> Krening took medical leave and never came back.
> Dickens’ conduct has caused emotional troubles,
> such as depression and anxiety, as well as
> economic losses for Krening, according to the
> lawsuit.
>
> The lawsuit says UP knew the harm Dickens was
> causing and is liable for damages. Krening
> requested a jury trial in the matter.
>
> From: Wyoming Tribune Eagle
> Wednesday, December 18, 2013 - Page A5

As a physician, I'll call complete BS on this.

I just showed this to my practice partner, who is an Endocrinologist who specializes in diabetes, and we agreed that the appropriate thing to do in this case would be to take the attorney who filed this case out and bull whip him.

Every last patient who has ever had diabetes has glucose levels that go up and down, even if they haven't been "stressed" in the least. And it is also easy for patients with diabetes to develop hyponatremia (low sodium in the blood) if their diabetes is not well controlled.

Maybe the UP and Ed Dickens are indeed the spawn of Satan -- I can't say one way or the other -- but at least this part of the lawsuit is ridiculous nonsense.

Thank you for the facts on diabetes.

I'm not a doctor, and make no medical judgements.

HOWEVER:

I cannot imagine that it would be a healthy
thing to be told daily that everything you
have ever done was wrong, everything you do
is wrong, nothing you do will ever be good
enough, that you have only managed to get
by for 20-30 years on luck and BS, and that
anything that goes wrong is your fault. Your
skills and experience don't matter, your input
is neither sought nor considered, and you
are too old and not pretty enough.

Seems it would take a toll after a while.

UP RR may want to recall the facts about icebergs: Only 1/10th of its mass is above the surface.
The filing of this Lawsuit may be the tip of a 'legal' iceberg ---and may be as perilous.

If I were UP RR, i would proceed through this fog with all due deliberate care, amass the facts and take appropriate steps to bring order to the situation.

If Dickens' perceived managing needs attention, now is the time to determine what should be the best course for the "program" and for bringing Dickens' conduct into compliance with current accepted practices of modern Human Capital Departments.

IMHO, this could get serious.

Wes Camp

I have to wonder how much longer Dickens will remain the frontman for the steam program.

Regardless of whether any of this is true, and I don't know one way or another, having allegations like these out in the public will be a distraction for the high-profile 4014 project.

The spotlight would shift from 4014 to Dickens and the allegations, especially the German marching music allegation. I just can't imagine Dickens remaining the front man and being made available to the media for 4014 issues.

Posted from iPhone

The face presented to the public may be far
different from the one presented when nobody
"outside" is watching or listening.

That would certainly not be anything new or
unique.

We all know people who can be perfectly
charming in public but 180-degrees opposite
the rest of the time.

I'd like to hear the Dear Leader sound like Adolf Hitler.

ddg Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'd like to hear the Dear Leader sound like Adolf
> Hitler.

He is actually pretty good. He mimics my voice almost perfectly, and his Hitler is VERY good also.

Narniaman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> As a physician, I'll call complete BS on this.
>
> I just showed this to my practice partner, who is
> an Endocrinologist who specializes in diabetes,
> and we agreed that the appropriate thing to do in
> this case would be to take the attorney who filed
> this case out and bull whip him.
>
[snip]
> Maybe the UP and Ed Dickens are indeed the spawn
> of Satan -- I can't say one way or the other --
> but at least this part of the lawsuit is
> ridiculous nonsense.

The ADA has an article on stress and it relationship to both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Here's a fairly relevant passage:

"The effects in people with type 1 diabetes are more mixed. While most people's glucose levels go up with mental stress, others' glucose levels can go down. In people with type 2 diabetes, mental stress often raises blood glucose levels. Physical stress, such as illness or injury, causes higher blood glucose levels in people with either type of diabetes."

Given that Krening lawsuit mentions that the stress induced the diabetes, it is more likely that he is a type-2 diabetic rather than a type 1 or a possible type 1.5.

Rob

Source: http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/complications/stress.html

Well, I do not work for UP Steam group, but if Herr Dickens sounds like this video, then there is something wrong with the senior management at UP. Even General Romel new Hitler was loosing it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ImNvEl2UB0

robm Wrote:

> The ADA has an article on stress and it
> relationship to both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
> Here's a fairly relevant passage:
>
> "The effects in people with type 1 diabetes are
> more mixed. While most people's glucose levels go
> up with mental stress, others' glucose levels can
> go down. In people with type 2 diabetes, mental
> stress often raises blood glucose levels. Physical
> stress, such as illness or injury, causes higher
> blood glucose levels in people with either type of
> diabetes."
>
> Given that Krening lawsuit mentions that the
> stress induced the diabetes, it is more likely
> that he is a type-2 diabetic rather than a type 1
> or a possible type 1.5.
>
> Rob
>
> Source:
> http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/compl
> ications/stress.html

Rob; here's the deal.

There's no question that stress will affect a diabetic's blood glucose.

But that's not to say that the blood glucose going up and down means the person is having stress.

There are all sorts of things that cause blood glucose swings in diabetics -- which is why it's so difficult to keep the glucose levels in good control.

If it was only a problem with stress -- then all you would have to do is give diabetics insulin and/or anti-hyperglycemic drugs, and Valium, and . . . .poof!! Perfect blood glucose control with great Hemoglobin A1C's of 5.5.

It doesn't work like that, though. To blame a person or corporation for diabetic complications from "stress" is absurd; the logical conclusion of such a thought process is no one with diabetes should ever be allowed to be in any type of stressful situation, because it would make their diabetes worse.

Does anybody want that?

Narniaman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If it was only a problem with stress -- then all
> you would have to do is give diabetics insulin
> and/or anti-hyperglycemic drugs, and Valium, and .
> . . .poof!! Perfect blood glucose control with
> great Hemoglobin A1C's of 5.5.
>
> It doesn't work like that, though. To blame a
> person or corporation for diabetic complications
> from "stress" is absurd; the logical conclusion of
> such a thought process is no one with diabetes
> should ever be allowed to be in any type of
> stressful situation, because it would make their
> diabetes worse.
>
> Does anybody want that?

A railroad worker can take valium on duty??

Personally, I think the dung will soon impact the mechanical cooling apparatus!

I wonder how long it will take for a video showing UP steamers with German marching music in the background to appear on YouTube?

Who knows, they might go together well....

Posted from iPhone

The sad thing here is regardless of the lawsuit outcome, this filing has done more damage to the UP image than benefit provided by the steam program over the last few years. The steam program is not suppose to be a PR liability for Union Pacific. After reading the article I have visions of Nazi Germany managing the UP steam program. I am just waiting for the photoshopped swastikas adorning various UP steam locomotives.

How does UP repair its image following this?

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

webmaster Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The sad thing here is regardless of the lawsuit
> outcome, this filing has done more damage to the
> UP image than benefit provided by the steam
> program over the last few years. The steam program
> is not suppose to be a PR liability for Union
> Pacific. After reading the article I have
> visions of Nazi Germany managing the UP steam
> program. I am just waiting for the photoshopped
> swastikas adorning various UP steam locomotives.
>
> How does UP repair its image following this?

First, acknowledge there is a problem, and it's of
their own making.

Second, solve the problem. Get rid of the problem.
No transfer or promotion. Just gone.