Western Railroad Discussion > "a request railroad companies have been unwilling to grant."

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/14/us/politics/rail-strike-biden.html

Article from the Times about the impending situation between the railroads and labor unions that quickly seems to have gotten to the point of the untenable attendance and time-off policies that workers in the industry have highlighted on this site. The following line should resonate with most folks who aren't entirely soulless...

"Labor groups have insisted that employees be able to take unpaid time off for physician appointments, a request railroad companies have been unwilling to grant."

I like the one about points deducted for attending your parent's funeral! If something doesn't resonate as to the soulless SOBs 
running the show right now I don't know what will.

Out 

callum_out Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I like the one about points deducted for attending
> your parent's funeral! If something doesn't
> resonate as to the soulless SOBs 
> running the show right now I don't know what
> will.
>

Soulless says it all.

TAW

What? Points for grievance? Most companies will even pay you grievance pay for time off for a family member's death... Good Lord.

Victor B.


callum_out Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I like the one about points deducted for attending
> your parent's funeral! If something doesn't
> resonate as to the soulless SOBs 
> running the show right now I don't know what
> will.
>
> Out 

wabash2800 Wrote:
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> What? Points for grievance? Most companies will
> even pay you grievance pay for time off for a
> family member's death... Good Lord.
>

Frisco Northern went after operators first, before they started screwing with T&E. The BN manager of Telegrapher Control in Seattle said more than once that you could have a day off for your own funeral.

TAW

I seem to recall that during one of the contract negotiations way back when, we traded paid sick days for zero health insurance cost. I remember being told, "You'll never get a paid sick day but you'll never see a bill for your health coverage.". Now we still don't have paid sick days, any sick day now costs us whatever we would have made that day PLUS attendance points, and we pay a portion of our healthcare premium. And now they want us to pay a larger share of the premium. That's fine. Give me my effin paid sick days then. Rotten liars. 

trainjunkie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I seem to recall that during one of the contract
> negotiations way back when, we traded paid sick
> days for zero health insurance cost. I remember
> being told, "You'll never get a paid sick day but
> you'll never see a bill for your health
> coverage.". Now we still don't have paid sick
> days, any sick day now costs us whatever we would
> have made that day PLUS attendance points, and we
> pay a portion of our healthcare premium. And now
> they want us to pay a larger share of the premium.
> That's fine. Give me my effin paid sick days then.
> Rotten liars. 

Look at it this way. If they won't let you see a doctor, you won't get a bill. See? They got us all fixed up.

Back when I hired out and for a few years after, rails had the best healthcare and dental coverage in the country.

TAW

In Savannah many years ago, a lady called the crew clerk and told him to mark off her husband. I don't have anybody can't do it was the reply. Well you may wan to fill the job somehow because he just died.That one is the whole truth. Another crew clerk told another engineer who tried to make off sick didn't have anybody. If you can't come send somebody out here and turn in your rulebook and switch keys. He died in the hotel in Jacksonville that day. That same clerk told another clerk he couldn't have the night off sick,didn't have any clerks on the extra board. He died at the yard office.

Nobody knows what a kind charitable company the railroad is.{sarcasim}

Sam 

TAW Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> callum_out Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I like the one about points deducted for
> attending
> > your parent's funeral! If something doesn't
> > resonate as to the soulless SOBs 
> > running the show right now I don't know what
> > will.
> >
>
> Soulless says it all.
>
> TAWz

You load 16 tons, what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt

In a few more years I will tell some stuff that will make you shake your head in disbelief.

Regards

Posted from iPhone

wabash2800 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What? Points for grievance? Most companies will
> even pay you grievance pay for time off for a
> family member's death... Good Lord.
Initially NS counted all mark offs against your attendance except one - jury duty.  Thankfully they later quit counting bereavement days against your attendance.  Also back then the dreaded weekend markoffs were anything from Thursday to Sunday.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/15/22 07:30 by Notch7.

What I have read does not say crews will be guaranteed one day off in a week.  If that is right why would they want to settle?

tomstp Wrote:
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> What I have read does not say crews will be
> guaranteed one day off in a week.  If that is
> right why would they want to settle?

Existing days off are tied into the regular assignments you bid in, some of the freight pools and extra boards, and as specified in the Hours of Service Act.  It can vary a little from road to road. Some railroads find ways to infringe on your days off.  Just because you have a scheduled or rotating day off, you might not be able to schedule a doctor appointment on that day. You can't  schedule your sickness or your kids sickness.  That's when you have to ask off, and you might get denied.  If you have to mark off more than they deem you should or mark off on days they don't want you to, that goes against your attendance record.  The railroads will discipline you for that.  My BNSF engineer cousin got dismissed for that.  The ability to get off when you need off and the harsh attendance disciple policies are central issues this time.  The railroads squeeze longer work hours out of you today, and find ways to deny you off time you may have earned like single day vacations and personal leave time.

Kafka would love this. 

We're short of people, so you can't have the day you're entitled to take off. If you take off a day, we will assess points, and may eventually dismiss you.

So you're dismissed.

We're even shorter of people, so the next guy can't have the day off.

It should be a lot of fun when people get their lump sum back pay and skee-daddle off the property.

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Kafka would love this. 
>
> We're short of people, so you can't have the day
> you're entitled to take off. If you take off a
> day, we will assess points, and may eventually
> dismiss you.
>
> So you're dismissed.
>
> We're even shorter of people, so the next guy
> can't have the day off.
>
> It should be a lot of fun when people get their
> lump sum back pay and skee-daddle off the
> property.
 Yeah, Joseph Heller would be proud. A guy's given ten days off for being off too much, profits are up, we don't have enough people to crew jobs, profits are way up, we'll introduce one of the worst (if not THE worst) availability policies ever, hey everbody these profits are CRAZY! and what the hell are you talking about 'incentivizing manpower to cope with these shortages?!' ...GENIUS!  

skinem Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Lackawanna484 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Kafka would love this. 
> >
> > We're short of people, so you can't have the
> day
> > you're entitled to take off. If you take off a
> > day, we will assess points, and may eventually
> > dismiss you.
> >
> > So you're dismissed.
> >
> > We're even shorter of people, so the next guy
> > can't have the day off.
> >
> > It should be a lot of fun when people get their
> > lump sum back pay and skee-daddle off the
> > property.
>  Yeah, Joseph Heller would be proud. A guy's
> given ten days off for being off too much, profits
> are up, we don't have enough people to crew jobs,
> profits are way up, we'll introduce one of the
> worst (if not THE worst) availability policies
> ever, hey everbody these profits are CRAZY! and
> what the hell are you talking about 'incentivizing
> manpower to cope with these
> shortages?!' ...GENIUS!  


Some of my favorite authors/philosophers. And yes, you can’t make this shit up, and the 1% sit with smiles on their faces and nod when you point out that their business “philosophy” flies in the face of reason, sanity, and Newtonian physics.
Not to mention GAO principles.

SMFH.

Regards

Posted from iPhone