Western Railroad Discussion > Train Crews

Will this Covid-19 slow down the bargaining for one man crews?

Thanks for any info.

Randy Lundgren
Elgin, TX

Not a chance. Now the carriers will cry poverty and that one man crews are the only way they can make money.

Posted from Android

Much safer to have the person monitoring the computers
on the engine all by his her self.  HQ will watch cab interior via cameras.
Conductor will be by him her self in van with flat tire in middle
of nowhere on dirt road out of radio and cell range. 

Mngmt smells a bonus coming.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/19/20 15:53 by Englewood.

OHRY Wrote:
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> Not a chance. Now the carriers will cry poverty.

 Couldn't have happened at a better time for the carriers.

in reference to 1 man crews, the conductor/utility man will also be watched like a hawk by headquarters, company vehicles will have GPS and cameras, inside focused on driver, outside to capture any perceived rule violation,they will use the truck to also watch other crews and crafts, no one will be exempt you also will have a personal body camera on you like the cops have but better, connected to HQ, no speeding, personal protective equipment on, safety vest, hard hats, ear plugs, and glasses on even with windows rolled up at all times, yup just like a locomotive. in between assignments, you will be monitored, sitting along the right of way, under a shade tree with your eyes closed with the seat reclined, automatic termination, violation of assuming position of rest, ( gcor 1.11). hot or cold days, no running the truck for ac or heat, remember fuel conservation, all savings go for bonus's. conductors if you think your saving your jobs and voting for this crap, your crazy, companies think 20-30 years in advance, cameras and video surveillance is so cheap, you are expendable, hire young and dumb, walk those 200+ car trains in the snow, than hike back to your truck, burn you out, never to again to see a 30 year pension, next new employee, repeat-rinse-brainwash all over again, this will all take place within a few years.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/19/20 16:34 by alco244.

This whole CCP virus thing was a Godsend for the carriers. We are screwed.

trainjunkie Wrote:
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> This whole CCP virus thing was a Godsend for the
> carriers. We are screwed.

...yet a flight crew sits closer together than a train crew.

(That will be ignored when the subject of proximity and the virus comes up).

TAW

This excuse of the rauilroads crying Poverty is a bunch of nonsense..The railroads are making money, but the figures they present are created to fit their need...Right now and for the future, coal is taking a big hit and the railroads that haul it can do nothing to stop it except cut back...But, in the mean time, they should be knocking on doors for more traffic, making promises and them keeping them..One man crews is what big business wants, but two men in the cab make a big difference.  What you have read is a serious case of big brother..Watching the crews, looking for mistakes or excuses to dump or fire them....This is a low form of life...

TAW Wrote:
 We are screwed.
>
> ...yet a flight crew sits closer together than a
> train crew.
 TAW

I saw a news program that announced that the airline cabin crew will be wearing Hazmat suits.
I wonder how that will go over with the pilots?

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

alco244 Wrote:
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> in reference to 1 man crews, the conductor/utility
> man will also be watched like a hawk by
> headquarters, 

Imagine the kind of person that would accept working such a surveillance job.  What a man.  Or woman.
Starbucks and Amazon employee activities are tracked and they are harrassed if they don't perform up to snuff, so I guess a guy handling a 10,000 foot train with hazmat can be treated the same way.

I believe you are right one point..maybe a little exaggerated ...

RRTom Wrote:
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> alco244 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > in reference to 1 man crews, the
> conductor/utility
> > man will also be watched like a hawk by
> > headquarters, 
>
> Imagine the kind of person that would accept
> working such a surveillance job.  What a man. 
> Or woman.
> Starbucks and Amazon employee activities are
> tracked and they are harrassed if they don't
> perform up to snuff, so I guess a guy handling a
> 10,000 foot train with hazmat can be treated the
> same way.


The Railfans and Fomers will line up for the job.

HardYellow Wrote:

>
> The Railfans and Fomers will line up for the job.

They will not get hired if they show any interest in the industry.

the rule books are written for and by the company, any accident is never their fault, ha ha, 1 st rule ABC, always blame the crew, i was in a 40 mph derailment, a near by track gang showed up 1st, than management, the cause was know and found by the track guys, management demanded a statement in a effort to blame the crew, i said the cause was found, company work equipment caused the accident, all i did was bail off the engine brakes and issue the requires emergency broadcast. now with cameras every where, on 24/7, they will use footage from any source, including trailing locomotives, now we have a new toy, drones, going back to the rule books, they will scour the pages to justify the scourge of the industry, money and bonuses, 

You're always "guilty until proven innocent". And it's not just in the railroad industry either.

PHall Wrote:
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> You're always "guilty until proven innocent".

...and sometimes even after that.

TAW

TAW Wrote:
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> PHall Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > You're always "guilty until proven innocent".
>
> ...and sometimes even after that.
>
> TAW


Yep! My son found that out, working for the CSX in Birmingham, AL

alco244 Wrote:
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> ...now with cameras
> every where, on 24/7, they will use footage from
> any source, including trailing locomotives...

Yep. My employer is now reviewing video footage from forward-facing cameras, you know, the ones that we "only supposed to be used for accident investigations, and not for discipline", to bust crews on rules violations. And a good portion of the time the information assumed by the video reviewer turns out to be incorrect when checked against other sources. So now you can receive a letter of investigation for something someone saw on video two months ago and you have to somehow recall that exact moment in order to defend yourself in a hearing. If you can't find contradictory evidence, all of which the company controls too, you are screwed. And, as usual, the neutered unions are acting shocked and surprised and are totally unprepared to deal with this. 

Trainjunkie hit it on the head today. Ditto where I work.

Posted from iPhone

An interesting tidbit of the inside cameras. First foremost, always treat the device as if it is on and recording. In truth, the devices are not always turned on. There are ways to tell. I continue to take my Canon classic 1990 model w/me on most trips and have taken 100s of pics from either the condr seat or down in the nose through the front window, or on the ground on a roll-by on a DT mainline when safe to do so and no other duties are having to be done at that moment, even after inside cameras washed up on shore.
For the newbies who only  have smart phones/cameras or a smart camera: My method of camera is an old school 35mm film that is not a communication device. When the film roll is used up, I take it to the photo shop, get it developed and two wks later I have anither colllection of slides to label and play with. I don't even have a smart phone, nor do I want one.
Main tipw/the inside cameras is for anyone not to do anything stupid and all will be fine but again, respect the devices the carriers have installed to spy on everyone and not do stupid acts that can generate an investigation notice.