Western Railroad Discussion > Career Change-Train Crew

Fellow TO'ers,

Ok, I know there have been posts about railroad jobs here in the past. "Tell us what it's like working for the RxR, etc." And reading those post, I enjoy (and I'm sure others do as well) reading about some of the inter-workings of a railroad. However, I would like to get a little more information.

Without getting into any details, I am looking for a possible career change. I am hoping to connect with one (or maybe two or three!) railroad employees on this website that can give me some real insight into working on the railroad, specifically as a train crew member. I am looking for private messages only to answer some of the questions I have about the job(s). I am not interested in airing a bunch of gripes/complaints/etc on this website. If I'm contacted, I will be more than happy to provide the questions (don't worry, it's not that many!) I am looking to answer as well as any other information needed.

In advance, I appreciate the time responding to my post.

Jeff
Chico, CA.

It would help to know what area of the country and what railroad you are considering so you can get more relevant information.

Also keep in mind that you REALLY need to be sure you want to make the jump. Once you hire on the railroad, you will move to the Railroad Retirement system for unemployment or sickness benefits. Once you do so, most often you no longer qualify for the unemployment benefits (such as state administered programs) others can tap in to. It is important to mention that, because you must have minimum service time credits (24 months, if memory serves me correct) before you qualify for certain RRT programs ... such as unemployment. This is critical because, should you get furloughed, you could be facing months of no work with no unemployment benefits available to you.

Posted from Android

Regarding the above comment from bioyans:

I can't believe how poorly you guys are treated on the railroad. I'm sure that many make a good living at it, but I have seen first hand what happens when an employee gets injured and the crap that follows. Why do you even pay union dues to have such crappy treatment? Why doesn't the union work on a contract that is beneficial to both the union and the corporation? I realize that the railroad is working under VERY old rules and laws, but why don't you guys modernize and come up to the 70's? Or at least the 80's?? The hell that I saw one Amtrak employee go through after an on-duty injury was absolutely ridiculous. No worker's comp, you get fired for doing your job correctly, you have to sue in order to get ANYTHING (and the lawyer takes a big chunk out of that win)---it just seems so wrong. I'm not in the biz, so it's very easy for me to see as someone who is on the outside looking in. Some things seem so easy to change, but I have a feeling that "It's always been done this way" is probably prevalent any time change is brought up.

coaststarlight99 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Regarding the above comment from bioyans:
>
> I can't believe how poorly you guys are treated on
> the railroad.

The biggest problem isn't the unions ... or management. It's the fact that most of what we work under is covered by the Railway Labor Act. The RLA ... quite literally ... takes an act of congress to get the laws changed. Even then, because you have politicians involved, the best of intentions results in things being even more screwed up than they were before they were "fixed." The Railroad Safety Act (which was all but dead until the head on in Chatsworth) is proof of that. Many of the Hours of Service changes, even though they were intended to reduce fatigue, actually resulted in employees spending more time away from home, rather than less.

Regarding injuries, we don't fall under workman's comp but we do come under FELA. FELA awards tend to be substantially higher. If it was up to the railroads, they would have us under workman's comp yesterday, since FELA costs them a great deal of money.

Again, it comes down to both the railroads and the unions playing under the set of rules given them by those who write the laws.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/18/14 23:20 by bioyans.

> I can't believe how poorly you guys are treated on
> the railroad. I'm sure that many make a good
> living at it, but I have seen first hand what
> happens when an employee gets injured and the crap
> that follows. Why do you even pay union dues to
> have such crappy treatment?

If it was that bad of a job, people wouldn't be lined up to get in and stay with it 'til retirement age and past in many cases. Every job has good and bad. The railroad pays well and is one of the few jobs left in America that used to define middle class. You know- where your wife stays at home and raises the kids, you have a new car in the garage, you take a paid vacation somewhere nice every year, etc. The reason it pays so well is because of the union. The union has it's problems, but it also has it's benefits--like a boss can't walk up to you and say "you're fired" because he doesn't like your haircut. Vacation and job selections are based on pure seniority, not how much the foreman likes you or how much you shine the bosses' shoes on Sunday. Other unions don't even have that going for them, believe it or not. Not really all that bad of a way to make a living for your family if you can handle the time away from home.

handsignals Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> > I can't believe how poorly you guys are treated
> on
> > the railroad. I'm sure that many make a good
> > living at it, but I have seen first hand what
> > happens when an employee gets injured and the
> crap
> > that follows. Why do you even pay union dues to
> > have such crappy treatment?
>
> If it was that bad of a job, people wouldn't be
> lined up to get in and stay with it 'til
> retirement age and past in many cases. Every job
> has good and bad. The railroad pays well and is
> one of the few jobs left in America that used to
> define middle class. You know- where your wife
> stays at home and raises the kids, you have a new
> car in the garage, you take a paid vacation
> somewhere nice every year, etc. The reason it
> pays so well is because of the union. The union
> has it's problems, but it also has it's
> benefits--like a boss can't walk up to you and say
> "you're fired" because he doesn't like your
> haircut. Vacation and job selections are based on
> pure seniority, not how much the foreman likes you
> or how much you shine the bosses' shoes on Sunday.
> Other unions don't even have that going for them,
> believe it or not. Not really all that bad of a
> way to make a living for your family if you can
> handle the time away from home.

Yes, but you have to be careful about projecting too far into the future based on the recent past.

Airline pilots, machinists, flight attendants, etc are all unionized, and had very good working conditions into the late 1990s. Then it all went into the crapper. Rules changes, pay went way down, conditions got a lot worse, etc.

If one major railroad goes into bankruptcy, and gets a bankruptcy court to rip up the contracts and screw over the retirees (Detroit city, the airlines, the auto industry, and many more), you know the other railroads will be demanding similar give backs.

Not saying it will happen, just that the next 15-20 years may not look like the last 15-20 years on the railroads.