Working for NS

[ssmith1627]

What do you think guys, good company to work for ?  Is there a career there for a 40 year old guy who has worked in international transportation for 20 years ?   I just haven't found anything here locally that looks promising for what I've done my adult life.

I'm scared to death here that I'm going to lose my job.  Don't want to move away because my wife's family is here.   

Appreciate any feedback you can offer.  Sorry to post this since it isn't truly related to what this board is about.

Steve

[JCagle]

I will start this off saying I am not an employee of the railroad, nor have I ever been. If any rails need to make any corrections to what I say. While I have not worked for them I am aware of what is involved. It takes a special breed to work for the railroad. Most of the jobs require working all hours of the night and day sometimes on a couple hours notice. There will be weekend and holiday work and lots of traveling. Long term employees are rewarded for their loyalty, but you will have to work your way up. It is definitely not for everyone.

I will say recently they have actually pulled a lot of the jobs that were posted and they are actually are cutting off employees all over. This is sort of like being layed off. When they are cut off they do not draw pay, but they will be taken back when they are needed.

The company seems to take care of their employees fairly well. They make good money and have good benefits. Some of the employees can elaborate as to what the specific pros and cons of some jobs are.

[TM3358]

I had a little taste of rail work with railserve I would love to work for NS  I know a few of their emps with about 30+ years  its really hard to get on but the end benifits are worth the life

[TB4JY]

Well Steve,

I think your about three years behind right now.   With the way the economy is right now and with the up coming changes in the "Hours of Service Act", I doubt if there will be much hiring for a while.  I see things going like they were after the 85 agreement.  The railroads didn't do much hiring for almost 10 years.  They would hire here and there, but nothing like the big hiring boom we have seen over the past 8 years or so.

On the railroad, timing is everything.  If you really want to go down this path, I would try and get on as soon as the economy starts picking back up.  That will help make sure you don't get cut-off.  But by that time, I would imagine things will be drastically different out here.  Contracts, pay and what not.  With the Positive Train Control being shoved down the railroads throat (something like by 2011?), I would think they will make a more aggressive move to get rid of the conductors on through freights.  That will have a huge impact on the ground employees.

If you did manage to get hired on before all that goes down and you have at least 3 years seniority, you could end up becoming a protected employee (meaning you could get paid to sit at home).  If they go down that road.  What I mean by that, is if the company is going to have to make more "Protected Employees"...  I could see them cutting off as many people as possible a year prior to.  The reason is in the UTU National Agreement.

Article XII of the October 31, 1985 National Agreement addressed termination seniority and is reproduced below:

"Article XII ? Termination of Seniority

The seniority of any employee whose seniority in train or engine service is established after the date of this Agreement and who is furloughed for 365 consecutive days will be terminated if such employee has less than three (3) years of seniority."

The choice is yours....  Do some homework on our agreements before you make a decision.

You can start by reading the "New Hire" info below...

http://www.utugca898.org/NewHireInfo/NewHireInfo.htm

Hope that helps you out some.

[jcmark4501]

Being 40 years old it will be pretty difficult to get a job on the train service side of things. I assume you are in Knoxville so, the best things there are the dispatcher's positions. It's a 365/7/24 job but, it's very unlikely there will be anyone cut off due to the economy.

[Michael Knight]

Knoxville has about a dozen men furloughed at the moment; however, look for NS to hire many more conductors in  the future.

[Michael Knight]

You age will not hurt you at all. NS has hired 60-year-old grandmothers to be conductors, so you're at no disadvantage.

You might look into applying for a dispatcher's position. Your education may or may not be a factor here, because NS gives preference to dispatcher applicants with at least some college education.

[etalcos]

I disagree.  I think Steve is probably the wrong gender and ethnic background to be considered for a job.  I know that he would not meet the exacting standards for a job at CYO. 

I'll bet you lunch somewhere that the 60 year old grandmother stands a better chance of getting a job with NS than Steve does unless he "knows somebody".

[J-man]

Hahahaa, yeah CYO doesn't seem to be the epitome of diversity at NS.  Maybe it's an Atlanta thing....

I'm looking to get furloughed again here before long, and got furloughed twice last year.  We got to work up in Cincinnati once, the second one we just sat at the house drawing unemployment. 

The good thing is, within the next 2-5 years, a lot of our old heads will be gone.  So they will have to hire some.

One more thing to worry about is word of doing away with the 2nd district entirely!   One of the not so bright head honchos wants something decided within the next 16 months.  Apparently Burnside is proposed to be the crew change point for Cincinnati crews, Chattanooga crews, Knoxville crews, and Louisville crews.  I don' t see it happening as is.

Hopefully nothing will come of it, as word of this have been circulating the past 30 years.  Gotta keep my fingers crossed on this one.

[TB4JY]

Maybe it's an Atlanta thing....

Wow!  You have no idea. :

[GAandFLA-RR]

Maybe it's an Atlanta thing....

Wow!  You have no idea. :

Heh.....one of the main reasons I moved back home from there (and CYO)!