Why is there so much disarray in the agreement divisions? It’s pretty easy to show up and spend 4 hours waiting on trains. Seems like a cushy job. Fill out some paperwork, make sure you ware your gear, and crack some jokes. But maybe it’s easier to be polarized and angry.
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Sorry for calling them managers. I know that term was canceled and were downgraded to supervisors. No bonus for you! Glad to see supervisors being more stressed than usual. Just make sure my limo is in the system. Or Don't and fill my pockets with money....
I pick my grips up and put them down... i get paid more than myo's at up. I like my agreement jobby job. Been here 19 years. Put my wife through a major university. Also put myself through school. I have a degree and I don't get yelled at like a child in conference calls. I have my dignity intact. I WARE my gear. The hammer is coming down on 40 dispatchers and 10% more of managers for September alone. $uck on that nugget of truth. Hopefully you WARE your best attire at the unemployment line future Management of McDonald's....
@2btj The word “generally” implies that there are exceptions to the statement. Nobody said “no agreement employees have college degrees”, although I’ve never met one who does. I’ve also never met one who has done more than 10 hours of work per week, excluding travel time. Then again, I didn’t work in every department at UP.
From what I saw managers didn’t do much either. Sitting in a truck on site and texting at 2am isn’t hard work.
Because agreement are being led by people that have little to no clue what agreement railroad employees actually do. It’s not point, click, and everything is done like so many non agreement think. Having managers pounding rocks trying to figure out why moves take so long to complete with them being changed 3-5 times after you start, then looking at you saying I’m lost how do you keep track of all the changes? Or when something ends up throwing the whole move off because something was supposed to be good is actually bad and figuring out how to make it work on the fly. Managers walking the pits with the employees working on things and realizing to fix or work on half the stuff rolling across the pits takes longer then their time saving ILP tracking system says it should. The list goes on and on and that’s just in the mechanical department I’m sure the other agreement employees in the other departments could add to the list with their issues. The disconnect between the glass palace and the true workers of the company just further extends the divide until they take the time to realize that it’s not going to get better. Employees provide value to a company when you value them, treat those employees like $hit and inferior people you reap the repercussions of that treatment.
What? If I work in a yard it’s around 11 hours a night. On the road xboard I’m spinning on my rest every 10 hours. And I have a college degree. What are you talking about?
The OP has a point. There are a lot of words that could be used to describe agreement employees, but overworked probably isn’t one of them. They’re also paid very well for people who generally don’t have college degrees.
Hurr durr, what’s the big deal guys? All you have to do is show up and wait for a train and wear safety gloves hurrr durrr.
Stupid managers trolling on this site again blaming agreement employees for everything
It seems to me all the te&y folks volunteered for what they do. You can unvolunteer if you’d like. Totally up to you.
I am neither an agreement nor a non-agreement employee. I’m bi-polar.
So as long as you pay someone enough, it is ok to treat them as a lesser class of human being? That is an interesting philosophy.
True posting. I am a train crewman and have never understood the anger and discontent either. I have worked here 20 years and have seen both good and bad times, but I feel fortunate to make over 120K per year with a high school diploma. I never thought I would have a job making this much coming from my background where both of my parents worked in factories and did not graduate H.S. Maybe everyone should just count their blessings and try and make things better for their co-workers.
Op you have no clue. Agreement are treated like trash hence the term Train Trash per management. I can only speak for te&y employees we are held to very high standards yet treated like second class citizens. We have an attendance policy that should be criminal for any human to abide by let alone safety sensitive employees responsible for so much. We have to go to work fatigued constantly because if you miss 3 days and then have a missed call you will be terminated. So for most of us no time off, no life, no respect, no family time, no fun. I challenge any of you wondering what the problem is to come and shadow an xtra board Conductor or Engineer for one month and then you will know.
Wear*** even an agreement employee like myself knows how to spell that.