Western Railroad Discussion > Trouble in paradise

I just heard from my son that he has taken early retirement from UP. Not that many years ago he had told me that it was the best job that he ever had. When I asked him why he retired, his reply was "I got tired of being treated like a child."
 

And???

I can tell you there are a LOT of UP retirees who left earlier than planned solely because of how UP management treats their employees.

The US Department of Labor keeps track of voluntary terminations, as part of the Job Openings and Labor Terminations (JOLTs) report.  It has been trending upward, as more people leave jobs ahead of retirement, often without a replacement job. It's considered an element of a healthy outlook for job opportunities.

"F this nonsense, I can get a better job"   versus "Things are tough, I better buckle down and put up with this nonsense"

Precision Scheduled Retirements

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
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> The US Department of Labor keeps track of
> voluntary terminations, as part of the Job
> Openings and Labor Terminations (JOLTs) report. 
> It has been trending upward, as more people leave
> jobs ahead of retirement, often without a
> replacement job. It's considered an element of a
> healthy outlook for job opportunities.
>
> "F this nonsense, I can get a better job"  
> versus "Things are tough, I better buckle down and
> put up with this nonsense"

The folks behind much of that are promoting the "gig economy." Everyone can be an "entrepreneur" and get filthy rich if they work hard enough. People actually fall for that propaganda. There are some fields in which a freelancer may do well...maybe. Maybe some of the maybe crowd can start a business big enough to hire folks to do some of the work. Most will be merely freelancers chasing work day and night forever. The more such "entrepreneurs," the greater the competition for the few opportunities. The good news is that an "entrepreneur" who has no gig is not unemployed and does not show in the statistics as such.

The "gig economy" is merely code for getting people to work without benefits, overtime, vacations, etc. Amazon is paying warehouse employees to quit and become "entrepreneurs" delivering packages. That'll fix the union rumblings management is afraid of.

Using the "gig economy," Long Island Rail Road could eliminate their overtime, benefits, and retirement "problem." https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,4791735 As in the trucking industry's owner-operators and lease-operators, all of LIRR train and engine crews could become "entrepreneurs." They could still work 70 hours a week and nobody would care because they would make far less money. Make no mistake, the concern of the author is money (just guessing, probably more income than she can imagine), not safety.

TAW

As I've said a number of times, wait'll things improve and the UP has to find people to fill both TE&Y and
the crafts. The only thing that will save them is the Trade War, a major grain rush would sink them.

Out



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/13/19 14:01 by callum_out.

"The "gig economy" is merely code for getting people to work without benefits, overtime, vacations, etc. Amazon is paying warehouse employees to quit and become "entrepreneurs" delivering packages. That'll fix the union rumblings management is afraid of."

Exactly so, TAW.

John

Korigaoka1811 Wrote:
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> "The "gig economy" is merely code for getting
> people to work without benefits, overtime,
> vacations, etc. Amazon is paying warehouse
> employees to quit and become "entrepreneurs"
> delivering packages. That'll fix the union
> rumblings management is afraid of."
>
> Exactly so, TAW.
>
> John

Yup, says the man who left several K in extra pension benefits on the table so he could “get the F out of Dodge” at his non-rail job of some 30 years. A steady erosion of professionalism, increasingly inane supervision by ignoramuses. The early retirement penalty was a small price to pay to leave all that. 

Hmm, I suppose “get the F out of Dodge City” probably has a different meaning for Santa Fe train service guys of a certain vintage :)). Anybody have a photo of Fs leaving Dodge?  I’d gladly pay for a nice print....

The JOLTs report is a widely respected survey.

Transportation historically fills about 100℅ of its openings. The pay differential is key, however.

In other industries, like finance, people often leave to form their own firm. Which they can later sell.

Having equity in a business is a good deal.

https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-7/which-industries-are-filling-job-openings-and-which-industries-are-not-exploring-the-jolts-hires-per-job-opening-ratio.htm

Posted from Android

I have a hard time putting "Paradise" and "Union Pacific" in the same sentence...

DevalDragon Wrote:
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> I have a hard time putting "Paradise" and "Union
> Pacific" in the same sentence...

...about 42 miles northwest of Ft Worth.

TAW

trainjunkie Wrote:
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> Precision Scheduled Retirements

Progressively Speedier Retirements?

mapboy

I have a friend who put as much as he could into UP stock.  He could retire anytime but now he has a pretty "cushy"" job running so he would be just home more with a bigger to do list. Bob

robj Wrote:
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> I have a friend who put as much as he could into
> UP stock.  He could retire anytime but now he has
> a pretty "cushy"" job running so he would be just
> home more with a bigger to do list. Bob

That's the model in Germany, too.  Companies with 500 or more employees are required to place employees on the Board of Managers / Directors, and subsidize employee ownership up to 15% of the share float.  It's a pretty big stick.

At retirement, the employee has a nice bundle of stock, paying a nice dividend. They can cash out, keep the stock, it's their choice.

TAW Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The folks behind much of that are promoting the
> "gig economy." Everyone can be an "entrepreneur"
> and get filthy rich if they work hard enough.
> People actually fall for that propaganda.

They are supposed to fall for it. We live in a "positive" world and people who say negative things must be silenced, so there will always be an ample supply of ignorance. I got a good glimpse of how successes and failures are chosen in the tech startup world, and hard work isn't a big factor.

> The "gig economy" is merely code for getting
> people to work without benefits, overtime,
> vacations, etc. Amazon is paying warehouse
> employees to quit and become "entrepreneurs"
> delivering packages. That'll fix the union
> rumblings management is afraid of.

I've already seen the initial wave of "delivery entrepeneurs" disappear due to the unsustainability of the work controlled by a monopoly. Similar offer ($10k loan to help start a delivery business) was tried on non-employees about 7-8 months ago. Verdict? FAILURE.

So now, Amazon is trying to shove their own employees into a deeper pool to drown. It'll be a slow drowning (due to the $10k incentive, which I'm SURE has conditions attached), slow enough where Amazon can take advantage of the short term increase in delivery options, so their business can continue to show "growth."

wjpyper Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I just heard from my son that he has taken early
> retirement from UP. Not that many years ago he had
> told me that it was the best job that he ever had.
> When I asked him why he retired, his reply was "I
> got tired of being treated like a child."

Your son made a smart move and my compliments to him for deciding not to take it anymore.
I also punched out early and paid thousands out of pocket for health insurance for three years,
but have no regrets.  An actuary told me that statistically, railroaders do not live too long past
full retirement. Thus, staying longer may shorten your life, and for what?  
I am enjoying the entertainment from the bleachers.  And there is so much to enjoy.

Even the UP HQ got out of 1416 Dodge St. in Omaha... === === = === JLH

A few years back the BLE had statistics that members had life expectancies similar to the broad population. I don't know if that holds for other crafts.

Posted from Android

if people can AFFORD to retire early from ANY profession, great.  i would PROBABLY not want any part of both of the careers i had in this day and age.........

66

Love the comment. well said my friend..23 years RR..and a ways to go.

ENGINEER MIKE HERNANDEZ
Diamond Bar, CA