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Railroad Scam... how many just 'knew' it would go like this?

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  • popsgarland

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    Aug 24, 2011
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    I wonder how we can get some more money.

    Ummmm, well, I know. Lets say we're going to strike and shut down most of our trains. Then the feds will have to give us a couple of billion dollars to keep us from striking.

    Think it'll work?
    Sure. Remember we're talking about Branden or asshole or Biden, or whatever he's called now.
     

    Sasquatch

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    The deal includes a 24% wage increase and $5,000 bonuses, as well as changes to existing policies on time off which had been a crucial sticking point for workers.

    Tax dollars might not be used - but people - consumers - are still going to foot the bill. 24% wage increase? Hello increased shipping costs. Hello increased inflation rates beyond what we're already seeing.
     

    Orbie

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    This is a prime example of looking from the outside in. I work for Union Pacifc and I’m about to go to sleep because I’m back on call in a few hours but I can tell you that the strike was for more than just wages. It was for quality of life.

    Keep in mind that it’s a 24% compound raise over 5 years. I believe the raise for 2022 is 7% while inflation is currently 9%. This raise does not coincide with the cost of living. They wanted to increase the cost of our healthcare and go to one man crews which would eliminate jobs and cost the employees more money. Class 1 railroads have been profiting billions of dollars annually while running skeleton crews. We are away from our wives and children majority of the time. It’s not uncommon for me to work 280+ hrs in a month not including time in a hotel. I’d like to be compensated for my time and the decrease in my health. I’m on call 24/7 365. What’s a birthday, anniversary, funeral or Christmas? It doesn’t matter, if we take the time off we are docked points. 28 points leads to termination while some occurrences can equal 15 points depending on which board you work on. So 2 occurrences could lead to termination. PLEASE SPEAK UP AND SHARE YOU'RE STORY IF YOU GET TERMIANTED FOR LAYING OFF SICK FOR 2 DAYS. We’ve had 3 deaths this month already and another on life support for a week due to a heat stroke because they wouldn’t give him a ride and instructed him to walk. It’s hard work and hard hours which I’m proud to do, but I’d bet my life that the majority of this forum could not railroad. I didn’t want a strike because of what it would do to our already struggling economy but I’m glad we got some people’s attention. Why is it that it’s been almost 120 days and this is the first thread regarding a strike on this website? Maybe because the news outlets didn’t think it was worthy of a story until less than 24 hours from costing the economy billions of dollars every day. I can promise you the majority of my division is conservative but we are getting screwed over and over again. It’s time for some compensation and railroaders are tired of getting railroaded.
     

    Tnhawk

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    Dec 7, 2017
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    I wonder how we can get some more money.

    Ummmm, well, I know. Lets say we're going to strike and shut down most of our trains. Then the feds will have to give us a couple of billion dollars to keep us from striking.

    Think it'll work?
    Sure. Remember we're talking about Branden or asshole or Biden, or whatever he's called now.
    He don't care what you call him, just get the account number correct on his payment.
     

    toddnjoyce

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    @Orbie I was wondering if you were going to chime in. My understanding is the the two-man crew shops are so understaffed that those shops essentially offer no time off. Either scheduled to work or scheduled on call. That’s on top of your current agreement having been expired for a couple years now, correct? Kind of a double whammy there.

    I’ve also heard a contributing factor to understaffing is lack of applicants that can pass a drug test in the background check.
     

    Darkpriest667

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    My father worked for Amtrack, he also worked for BNSF and was a Yard Master and Train Master. So I know a thing or two about this FUCKING SCAM.


    Amtrak is wholly subsidized. It has never made a profit EVER. They should let it die but won't. It's purely for political points.

    @Orbie When you get back from your next tour, as a fellow railroader. how many passenger lines does UP run? When you answer tell me why they run that many?
     

    Orbie

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    7   0   0
    Feb 21, 2011
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    @Orbie I was wondering if you were going to chime in. My understanding is the the two-man crew shops are so understaffed that those shops essentially offer no time off. Either scheduled to work or scheduled on call. That’s on top of your current agreement having been expired for a couple years now, correct? Kind of a double whammy there.

    I’ve also heard a contributing factor to understaffing is lack of applicants that can pass a drug test in the background check.
    Yes, our agreement expired over 3 years ago and we’ve been negotiating this entire time. There are areas in the the US where they cannot get a single applicant to show up to the interview. I personally would not recommend this job to anyone. I’ve trained guys in the past and the day they finish training, they get furloughed. Who would leave a job or career to go somewhere else and get furloughed? Some were furloughed for 2 years. It’s a slap in the face. I’m fortunate that I have enough seniority that I’ve only been furloughed for 4 months in 2020 due to Covid. Regarding time off, I currently get 3 weeks of vacation and 9 personal leave days in a year. Each November, I have to place a bid for my vacations for the following year and it’s all seniority based. Most of the time I don’t get what I bid on and I’m assigned something odd like 2 weeks back to back in August. The PL days can be put in 90 days in advance but can be denied if they need people to work. We need manpower but Union Pacific is constantly in the top 5 worst places to work in the US. Most of the applicants aren’t quality employees but at this point the railroads just want warm bodies. They have cut the time that new hires are trained and are putting them on crews together. It’s the blind leading the blind coupled with exhausted employees and they wonder why we have derailments, sideswipes and deaths. I’m bitching right now, but I enjoy what I do. We just want to have some time off occasionally when it’s needed without fear of termination.
     

    Orbie

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    7   0   0
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    My father worked for Amtrack, he also worked for BNSF and was a Yard Master and Train Master. So I know a thing or two about this FUCKING SCAM.


    Amtrak is wholly subsidized. It has never made a profit EVER. They should let it die but won't. It's purely for political points.

    @Orbie When you get back from your next tour, as a fellow railroader. how many passenger lines does UP run? When you answer tell me why they run that many?
    I honestly don’t know how many they run. I can tell you that there are several out of San Antonio. I meet them anywhere between San Antonio and Hearne or San Antonio and Houston. They run once a day both directions. They also run to Del Rio but I mainly travel North and North East so I don’t see them on those tracks. The agreement between Amtrak and UP is odd. They’re allowed to run on our tracks but have priority over us. I believe that if they are delayed by a freight train, the government fines the class 1 railroad. I do not know how true or accurate that is, but I’ve heard it many times.
     

    Eli

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    3   0   0
    Dec 28, 2008
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    True, but a 24% increase in pay for the rail workers is going to add to already high inflation! Not to mention the changes in manning demanded by the workers.
    Their pay hasn't kept up with inflation for years, I'm surprised they'll take that low of a raise.
    This is a prime example of looking from the outside in. I work for Union Pacifc and I’m about to go to sleep because I’m back on call in a few hours but I can tell you that the strike was for more than just wages. It was for quality of life.

    Keep in mind that it’s a 24% compound raise over 5 years. I believe the raise for 2022 is 7% while inflation is currently 9%. This raise does not coincide with the cost of living. They wanted to increase the cost of our healthcare and go to one man crews which would eliminate jobs and cost the employees more money. Class 1 railroads have been profiting billions of dollars annually while running skeleton crews. We are away from our wives and children majority of the time. It’s not uncommon for me to work 280+ hrs in a month not including time in a hotel. I’d like to be compensated for my time and the decrease in my health. I’m on call 24/7 365. What’s a birthday, anniversary, funeral or Christmas? It doesn’t matter, if we take the time off we are docked points. 28 points leads to termination while some occurrences can equal 15 points depending on which board you work on. So 2 occurrences could lead to termination. PLEASE SPEAK UP AND SHARE YOU'RE STORY IF YOU GET TERMIANTED FOR LAYING OFF SICK FOR 2 DAYS. We’ve had 3 deaths this month already and another on life support for a week due to a heat stroke because they wouldn’t give him a ride and instructed him to walk. It’s hard work and hard hours which I’m proud to do, but I’d bet my life that the majority of this forum could not railroad. I didn’t want a strike because of what it would do to our already struggling economy but I’m glad we got some people’s attention. Why is it that it’s been almost 120 days and this is the first thread regarding a strike on this website? Maybe because the news outlets didn’t think it was worthy of a story until less than 24 hours from costing the economy billions of dollars every day. I can promise you the majority of my division is conservative but we are getting screwed over and over again. It’s time for some compensation and railroaders are tired of getting railroaded.
    The Class 1 (major) railroads haven't been negotiating in good faith, with the worst offender the Berkshire Hathaway (Warren Buffett) subsidiary BNSF. The other Class 1s are stuck between activist investors (the guys that still think EHH and PSR are good ideas) and trying to stay competitive. BNSF employees are each responsible for over $250K annually to BNSF's bottom line, yet a statement by Class 1 'management' literally stated that, "Labor does not contribute to profits."
    My father worked for Amtrack, he also worked for BNSF and was a Yard Master and Train Master. So I know a thing or two about this FUCKING SCAM.


    Amtrak is wholly subsidized. It has never made a profit EVER. They should let it die but won't. It's purely for political points.

    @Orbie When you get back from your next tour, as a fellow railroader. how many passenger lines does UP run? When you answer tell me why they run that many?
    Amtrak was required due to federal malfeasance: Firstly, the routes and rates the railroads could charge were regulated by the ICC, and the ICC flatly refused to keep up with inflation while mandating largely empty trains continue; secondly was the discontinuance of mail contracts in the 1960s - most of the profit from 'passenger' trains was fast freight, and suddenly the railroads weren't allowed to compete for the largest source.
    Yes, our agreement expired over 3 years ago and we’ve been negotiating this entire time. There are areas in the the US where they cannot get a single applicant to show up to the interview. I personally would not recommend this job to anyone. I’ve trained guys in the past and the day they finish training, they get furloughed. Who would leave a job or career to go somewhere else and get furloughed? Some were furloughed for 2 years. It’s a slap in the face. I’m fortunate that I have enough seniority that I’ve only been furloughed for 4 months in 2020 due to Covid. Regarding time off, I currently get 3 weeks of vacation and 9 personal leave days in a year. Each November, I have to place a bid for my vacations for the following year and it’s all seniority based. Most of the time I don’t get what I bid on and I’m assigned something odd like 2 weeks back to back in August. The PL days can be put in 90 days in advance but can be denied if they need people to work. We need manpower but Union Pacific is constantly in the top 5 worst places to work in the US. Most of the applicants aren’t quality employees but at this point the railroads just want warm bodies. They have cut the time that new hires are trained and are putting them on crews together. It’s the blind leading the blind coupled with exhausted employees and they wonder why we have derailments, sideswipes and deaths. I’m bitching right now, but I enjoy what I do. We just want to have some time off occasionally when it’s needed without fear of termination.
    And UP is one of the better ones to work for!

    Eli
     

    Axxe55

    Retiretgtshit stirrer
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    0   0   0
    Dec 15, 2019
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    Lost in East Texas Elhart Texas
    @Orbie I was wondering if you were going to chime in. My understanding is the the two-man crew shops are so understaffed that those shops essentially offer no time off. Either scheduled to work or scheduled on call. That’s on top of your current agreement having been expired for a couple years now, correct? Kind of a double whammy there.

    I’ve also heard a contributing factor to understaffing is lack of applicants that can pass a drug test in the background check.
    Even back in the early 1990's when I worked for Burlington Northern, (was before the merged.) They would hire ten guys, and out of ten, maybe four would actually show up or pass the drug test.

    @Orbie is correct. The furloughs are bad. Part of the reason I didn't go back after the second one. I had just gotten remarried and my wife at the time didn't want to move to Ft. Worth, and we were living outside of Elkhart at the time. That would have been an almost seven hours traveling for work every day, or staying in a motel every night when I was working. I didn't mind it when I was single, but it's no way to start a new family.
     

    Orbie

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    7   0   0
    Feb 21, 2011
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    yet a statement by Class 1 'management' literally stated that, "Labor does not contribute to profits."
    I’ve seen this said by a lot of people lately. I definitely don’t want to defend the Class 1’s but I should clarify that statement. During Biden’s presidential emergency board, they the PEB said something along those lines. I have had so many emails the last couple of weeks and I can’t find the exact comment. It was the PEB that said this after they met with the big railroads. Naturally majority of railroaders have made shirts, hats, stickers, etc with this quote and have run wild with it. I agree with the statement as it truly feels that way but I also want to be honest about where that came from.
     
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