Eastern Railroad Discussion > NS serves MOW crews rotten food

Union sour over grotesque grub fed to NS work crews

By Justin Franz | January 10, 2020



NORFOLK, Va. – A food fight is brewing at Norfolk Southern.
On Tuesday, members of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division gathered outside of NS offices in Atlanta and Norfolk to raise awareness about what it described as “rotten and inedible” food the railroad is serving track gangs. The group shared photos of spoiled chicken and moldy fruit that had recently been given to maintenance of way employees working on projects in remote areas, far from restaurants and grocery stores.
Union officials were able to briefly speak with CEO James Squires and COO Mike Wheeler about their concerns.
“Norfolk Southern is a massively profitable railroad,” union officials say. “Mr. Squires himself made $11.3 million in 2018. The disrespect shown BMWED members through the serving of moldy, expired food is obtuse. It must stop immediately. If not, we will be back outside his lavish office.”
In a statement an NS spokesperson says the executives had a “productive dialog” with the union members and vowed to look into the issue. The spokesperson says the food in question was provided to employees by contracted food vendors.
“Norfolk Southern maintains an unwavering commitment to the health and safety of all of our workers and is fully committed to complying with our collective bargaining agreements,” the spokesperson says.

Posted from Android

And I’ve gotten bad food in high class restaurants. It happens. Sounds like the union rep needs to untangle his thong.

Posted from iPhone

Doug Wetherhold
Macungie, PA

Based on the photos I saw; the caterer NS contracted with in this instance must be staffed by idiots. The food was so obviously spoiled it should never have been plated.

Posted from iPhone

ALCO630 Wrote:
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> And I’ve gotten bad food in high class
> restaurants. It happens. Sounds like the union rep
> needs to untangle his thong.
>
> Posted from iPhone

You were in a restaurant. You could leave and go to a different restaurant. People working in remote MOW camps or even MOW camps in rural areas have no vehicle or easy way to leave and go to a different restaurant.

I am not a big supporter of Unions, even though I am in one, but sometimes they actually do take up meaningful arguments.

Jim

Good for the BMWE/IBT.

> You were in a restaurant. You could leave and go
> to a different restaurant. People working in
> remote MOW camps or even MOW camps in rural areas
> have no vehicle or easy way to leave and go to a
> different restaurant.
>
> I am not a big supporter of Unions, even though I
> am in one, but sometimes they actually do take up
> meaningful arguments.
>
> Jim

True, but the difference is I brought it to someone’s attention quietly and discreetly without turning it into a public display.

And if it’s true that the meal service was catered (and I don’t doubt that it was), then why aren’t they protesting in front of the caterers office instead of NS headquarters? Just more union grandstanding.

And before I get blasted, I’m 100 percent pro worker and I understand the need for unions. But sometimes the tactics they use is why people have the opinions of them they do.

Doug Wetherhold
Macungie, PA

If you don't start at the TOP, they won't know it ever happened.  They can get something done, maybe.  The outfit that was contracted to provide the dinners should be fired and  made to pay.  But on the other hand there probably not too many operations that will do the food service to a crew in a out of the way place that no one knows where they are.  I have worked in a lot of out of the way places in my career though not on or for a railroad.  I was in construction my whole career and took my lunch with me in a cooler lunch box.  Not sure if that is part of the deal or not, that the crew is provided food or not.  If so the higher ups need to get ahead of this and take care of the guys working their asses off making sure the rails are straight and parallel.  (They take care of the ones in the office looking out the window watching the world. So they need to watch out for ALL their employees.  Also if only one guy says something no one is going to listen.  If the union goes to the higher ups maybe something will get done.   Try it yourself.  They will listen to a group but one person they will tell you to take a hike!!
Mike



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/18/20 11:27 by lapklub.

It's not the workers' obligation to figure out who the company hired to provide them with (rotten) food. The company is responsible for what its contractors do. And I suspect the union made a spectacle out of this incidence because it wasn't the first time.
 

Squires and his vice presidents do not show pride and care in running a rairoad 

I am not trying to excuse NS, but perhaps the railroad should give an ample food allowance and let the union pick the caterer.

Yeah and I bet you left a bad review online too....isn’t that a public display?

It’s hard biting my tongue to avoid getting banned replying to someone like you!

“ True, but the difference is I brought it to someone’s attention quietly and discreetly without turning it into a public display.

And if it’s true that the meal service was catered (and I don’t doubt that it was), then why aren’t they protesting in front of the caterers office instead of NS headquarters? Just more union grandstanding. ”

Posted from iPhone

swingnose Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yeah and I bet you left a bad review online
> too....isn’t that a public display?
>
> It’s hard biting my tongue to avoid getting
> banned replying to someone like you!
>
> “ True, but the difference is I brought it to
> someone’s attention quietly and discreetly
> without turning it into a public display.
>
> And if it’s true that the meal service was
> catered (and I don’t doubt that it was), then
> why aren’t they protesting in front of the
> caterers office instead of NS headquarters? Just
> more union grandstanding. ”
>
> Posted from iPhone

I don’t leave review on line.
Don’t presume to know anything about me.

As for “someone like me”, if you want to be that much of a “caboose hole”, PM me and I’ll be more than happy to go back and forth with you until you become a waste of my time.

Doug Wetherhold
Macungie, PA

Good for them. I just talked to a friend with NS that said the CEO told the group he was not aware of this and he would look into it. We will see how that goes
I am glad they did protest if the food was as bad as they said I would have like to see management eat it

Gary


LCO630 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> swingnose Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Yeah and I bet you left a bad review online
> > too....isn’t that a public display?
> >
> > It’s hard biting my tongue to avoid getting
> > banned replying to someone like you!
> >
> > “ True, but the difference is I brought it to
> > someone’s attention quietly and discreetly
> > without turning it into a public display.
> >
> > And if it’s true that the meal service was
> > catered (and I don’t doubt that it was), then
> > why aren’t they protesting in front of the
> > caterers office instead of NS headquarters?
> Just
> > more union grandstanding. ”
> >
> > Posted from iPhone
>
> I don’t leave review on line.
> Don’t presume to know anything about me.
>
> As for “someone like me”, if you want to be
> that much of a “caboose hole”, PM me and
> I’ll be more than happy to go back and forth
> with you until you become a waste of my time.

I generally keep a bowl of fruit in my kitchen.  Occasionally I will go to grab an orange and be surprised by the same condition that seems to have happened literally overnigtht.  When fruit sits it rots.  I pick out the offenders, throw them out, clean the remainder and move on.  S-happens,  I cannot imagine this is a planned habitual plot.

If the workers had not done their job right, would management have made a big deal about it? 

NS needs to get into the 21st century on the way it’s M&W workers need to be treated.

Posted from iPhone

farmer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> NS needs to get into the 21st century on the way
> it’s M&W workers need to be treated.

You would think that the foreman of the gang would be looking out for his workers.

ts1457 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> farmer Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > NS needs to get into the 21st century on the way it’s M&W workers need to be treated.
>
> You would think that the foreman of the gang would be looking out for his workers.

I'm all ears.  What was the foreman in a work gang working in the middle of nowhere supposed to to when the catering service showed up with bad food?   

Brian

holiwood Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Squires and his vice presidents do not show pride
> and care in running a rairoad 

And that means nothing as ever who runs that part of the RR needs to step up should never get above that position. Go to who  is in charge of getting the food upper management should just hear about it from that person not take casre of it. Go up the chain from bottom to top thats the propper way.

BAB Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> And that means nothing as ever who runs that part
> of the RR needs to step up should never get above
> that position. Go to who  is in charge of getting
> the food upper management should just hear about
> it from that person not take casre of it. Go up
> the chain from bottom to top thats the propper
> way.

Railroad management is dysfunctional at best.  Middle management if full of "Yes men" whose prime motivation is nothing more than moving up the corporate ladder.  They can't manage, and have no interest in resolving issues.  Rather than get tagged as a "boat rocker," they sit on problems so that they never reach those at the top.  They often fail to fix them, out of fear that it might cost money to remedy.  We once had a supervisor in our part, who wasted more time worrying about where the union's bulletin board was placed, rather than the long list of operational problems the terminal was experiencing.  When the union rep lost confidence in him, and started taking problems directly to that person's higher-up, the supervisor in question was quickly given a short notice "promotion" to another location.

No joke ... at one Safety and Service meeting, I suggested we treat EVERY day like UPS peak season, so that performing at a high level becomes second nature.  Like an elite athlete, you train at a high level, to perform at a high level.  Immediately, the above metioned supervisor jumped in, and squashed the idea.  "NO!  WE CAN'T DO THAT!  If we did that every day, UPS would expect that service every day!  We need to show them more during peak season!"  That is an EXACT quote from him.  THAT is the sort of stupidity that gets rewarded, in railroad managment.

And, it is getting worse with PSR.  We are hearing rumblings of operational changes that will actually cost the company MORE money to implement ... such as higher employee turnover, increased lodging costs for away crews, more deadhead transportation costs, more detention time, etc.  But, nobody wants to speak up, because they don't want to tell the top operational guy the truth about what his plans entail.  The supervisors below, who deal with the resulting problems, are too scared for their own jobs, to speak up.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 01/19/20 09:14 by bioyans.