Posted on 10/11/2022 6:10:49 AM PDT by Red Badger
President Joe Biden pressured the railroads and unions to reach a deal.
That’s not bird dropping on your coat Joe.
Another finger flag for Joey
I’m not a fan of unions.
That said, due to the nature of my job I speak to a number of railroad workers.
It began with Covid. The railroads dumped a bunch of their employees, especially the senior ones, to save money. But when things picked up again, they didn’t have enough employees. Now the railroads are trying to figure out how to run those miles long cars with TWO employees on board.
But this is why they are calling it a “quality of life” issue. The employees are fed up with their days off being routinely cancelled. Even when putting in for their PTO days and after being approved, they are expected to still come into work if needed. There is a story bouncing around online that I can’t verify, that a fellow was not able to attend his own wife’s funeral due to these practices.
I used to work for a company where I had a ‘Beeper’ on me 24/7, and had to come in to work, 30 miles away, at a moments notice if something broke down.
After a couple of calls on ‘my day off’ or ‘in the middle of the night’ I quit..............
On-call 24/7 for weeks on end, no paid sick leave, no time off for family emergency or parents death. If you do take unpaid time off, you are penalized with losing attendence points. Lose too many and you are disciplined or terminated. Pay is good but not many jobs these days, including the military at peace, have such strict policies.
For now… Another RR argument is that the new PTC (Positive train control) technology will allow for elimination of one of those two workers. Sounds good but the multitude of tasks required in the cab (communications, paperwork, engine speed, etc. not including watching the track ahead for obstacles or pedestrians) makes the need for two in the cab a safety requirement. For now current Federal regulations agree, but there are exceptions that the companies are trying to exploit, if not now but at the time of the NEXT contract.
The stories I hear are similar. The RRs are trying to hire more employees but after learning that they have to give up any semblance of a normal or family life, they leave the class. Maybe one in twenty will make it through and then there is a six-month on-the-job training. Also, many senior employees with 15 years or more time on the job are quitting because of the recent RR rules. They realize that health and family trump the pay.
Biden’s union buddies are union presidents and office staff, not the working guys on the road for weeks at a time. The working stiffs don’t send big checks to the DNC. It’s the bosses that do. And the Dims want chaos in America, but ‘elections’ come first.
Note that a large number of railroad employees are over age 50, as the jobs are too dangerous for males age 18-39, due to the increased risk (84% higher for the injected) chance of dying of cardiovascular disease. Real statistics, real-world challenges.
No. He makes morons look smart.
Not sure about that correlation. Over 50 and working as an engineman for a RR for 20 plus years especially in today's work environment would lead to heart health issues, alcohol abuse, depression, etc. For many younger men, it's much more likely that when they find out what the job entails in terms of time away from home, being on call 24/7, lack of being able to take time off for health, family or other personal emergencies makes the decision for them notwithstanding the pay that comes with the job.
where’s harry truman when you need him ...
The rail unions reject the deal “unanimously?” On many of the rail union websites, they were touting how their boards “unanimously” saw fit to support a particular Residential candidate.
“I used to work for a company where I had a ‘Beeper’ on me 24/7, and had to come in to work, 30 miles away, at a moments notice…”
A place I work tried to sneak that in on me. I’d been there a year when a co-worker, not a supervisor, handed me an alphanumeric pager saying “it’s just so you know what’s going on”.
3 days later the damned thing went off and I didn’t respond. My supervisor started giving me crap about not responding. I handed it back to him on the spot.
L
That’s standard union spew.
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