Eastern Railroad Discussion > Any railroad hiring issues in your area?

Goneon66 and I had an interesting exchange about the supply of qualified workers on another thread, and I'm curious about how rail hiring is in various parts of the US. 

Is your railroad hiring, and how are the hires, quality wise?  Some folks have reported mass exodus from the hiring sessions when the drug / alcohol testing is discussed, or the hours required for the jobs.  In other places, good wages for much less demanding jobs have taken away the attraction of a rail job.

Once hired, do people stick around?  Or do they leave, or get furloughed?

(Pilot hiring, on the other hand, is booming.  Commuter pilots are moving to the majors, flight instructors are signing on with the majors, etc.  Lots of demand in the cycle right now.)

On my western class 1 the hiring and training standards are a joke and a lot of the new hires seem worthless.

Posted from iPhone

i would think within 1 month there will be some of furloughs.  the holiday vacations will be over those with seniority will be returning to work........

66

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Is your railroad hiring, and how are the hires,
> quality wise?  Some folks have reported mass
> exodus from the hiring sessions when the drug/
> alcohol testing is discussed........

This is a major problem nation-wide for any blue-collar jobs today.  People can't pass a drug test and they don't like having to show up for work every day.

Topfuel Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Lackawanna484 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Is your railroad hiring, and how are the hires,
> > quality wise?  Some folks have reported mass
> > exodus from the hiring sessions when the drug/
> > alcohol testing is discussed........
>
> This is a major problem nation-wide for
> any blue-collar jobs today.  People can't pass a
> drug test and they don't like having to show up
> for work every day.

Yup, we are having a HUGE issue with that at USPS.

I've said in the past the biggest problem CSX has with retention is that we hire way more than necessary so there isn't enough work when the new hires mark up. Hopefully they will learn someday, because 8 were just hired at my location, which is enough for now.

Judging on the amount of men on the bump board today (and the big cuts won't happen for another week or two) in a handful of terminals around me, it's going to be a long, cold winter for the new hires.

jointauthority Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> On my western class 1 the hiring and training
> standards are a joke and a lot of the new hires
> seem worthless.
>
> Posted from iPhone

Boy is that the truth. 

since csx got rid of its conductor schools, the quality of new hires has gone way down. at least then you had people who wanted a rr career. now its just people who are looking for another job when they get this one.

Eventually how a company treats employees will be reflected in how the employees treat the company. Most candidates will also check a company out to see what its reputation is like before trying to hire on.

I attended a NS hiring session for yard conductor. They had chairs for about 100 applicants. Maybe 30 applicants showed up, mostly laid off CSX employees. The company presented with an arrogant style. After a description of the conditions (which was relatively honest) about half left. Surprising condition was that you could never be promoted from the positions offered. I decided I really didnt want to work there balancing the pay (fair) and benefits (good) against the workload (moderate) and lifestyle/working conditions (bad). I did the interview which seemed to go well but did not follow up with them.

I also previously received my CDL-A for tractor trailers. Passed DMV test on the first try, excellent driving record for 30 years, dont drink alcohol. Many companies were hiring desperately, but I simply didnt want their working conditions for the low compensation offered relative to the lifestyle/demands.

In other words there are plenty of good people out there willing to work when treated with respect and treated properly. The problem is not exclusively with the workforce as is so often preached, usually by those who want slave labor.

The older generation seems to have no problems with alcohol but has demonized pot. The current generation has a different view. You can see this change coming.

One last point... asking veteran employees about new hires almost always gets the response that they are fools or worthless. Those veterans were once likely fools and worthless their first time on the jobs too, but they dont remember that - or dont want to.

Michael



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/01/19 19:28 by emd_mrs1.