Management stealing jobs

Well I just got off the phone with my dad. He was just telling me about how the assistant trainmaster stole a job that he was supposed to run today. He was supposed to pilot NS 214 to Hagerstown, MD because there was a Harrisburg crew on it that wasn't qualified for the run between Manassas, VA-Hagerstown, MD. Well anyway, his rest was up at 12:05 and he was first out and he called the call office to see why he wasn't called for the 214 pilot job. The call office said that the assistant trainmaster had taken the job and he wasn't supposed to do that. My dad kept telling the call office he wasn't allowed to do that but she kept saying yes he is, yes he is. So now the whole extra board is screwed up and crews are quite upset over it because they were all planning to work and had nothing prepared for thanksgiving today, so even while they are home management still screws up their holidays. He said tomorrow he is going to take this whole matter to the union. I believe that if trainmasters want to run trains then they should just get out of the management crap and go back to being engineers, if qualified. They make more money that way anyway. How often does this kinda stuff happen?? And when it comes to T&E service, do trainmasters have any right at all to take somebody's job like that??

Kevin

I'm not sure how running around one guy for a pilot job screws up the whole board, it keeps everybody one slot farther down but you make it sounds like chaos. Management messing with the proper order of things is nothing new. Either taking a job themselves like this, or more often altering the normal call rotation to hand-pick a crew ( or pass by somebody they are PO'd with). That's why you have a union and they are much better informed on the particular agreements in place than the readers here. And next time you might want to be a little less specific on who and where you are talking about. I hope no NS gestapo-types happen to read this or they'll really be out to get him.

Well it wasn't chaos as it seems like it was in my post. But it upset him enough to make him take the matter to the union. Sorry for actually posting where it was. Didn't know it would cause a problem. Guess I'll just find out more from him. Thanks for the reply anyway

Grown men maybe, but they have little knowledge or understanding of what an employee has to deal with. They'd do it for free if they could. But they can't. That's why we're trained, qualified professionals and their taking our pictures.

First everyone complains that management never gets in the field and is clueless about day-to-day operations and conditions. I'd expect to hear kudos for this get-your-hands-dirty management initiative!

NS212 LET THE TIMESLIPS FLY, MAYBE THEY'LL PAY IT 5 YRS FROM NOW

Easy there guys... no cussing... light one match, but dont throw gas on it.

This is a strikeable offence and a direct violation of the national contract (agreement). Managers are not allowed to perform union jobs.

Qualified Road Foremen and TM's can run trains if there is an emergency
or an unusual operating conditions (ie rule violations, keeping current
over qualified territory, derailments etc.) They cannot arbitrarily run trains just for the hell of it, but this is NS. They do whatever they dam
please. I am just surprised that they they can keep men and stay in business.

while we're on the subject, can a manager get qualifying time for the purposes of getting his class I license? i.e. a trainmaster wants to get his engineer's license. I've heard about managers going to engineer school, especially at Amtrak, but I was curious for the freight roads. Thanks for any information.

They can go to school all they want, but unless engineers give these students(traimaster) seat time for ojt purpose they could never get qualified.

This is true, and that is what I previously asked. Like I asked before, can a manager get "seat time" without violating union agreements?

I'm guessing TM's do this so they can have "the best of both worlds" so to speak by having management power and being able to run trains too. I think really if they want to run trains just get into T&E service. Why run a train on a set salary when you can just be an engineer and make more than what you're making as a TM. Most TM's just want to run trains and usually don't have a legit reason to do so around here. Usually it's the former engineers who are now TM's that do this sorta thing. They just gotta have that feelin' of being behind the throttle of a 4400hp locomotive

braves2905,

amtrakhogger wrote:Qualified Road Foremen and TM's can run trains if there is an emergency
or an unusual operating conditions (ie rule violations, keeping current
over qualified territory, derailments etc.) They cannot arbitrarily run trains just for the hell of it, but this is NS. They do whatever they dam
please. I am just surprised that they they can keep men and stay in business.

this was a few posts up..pretty much any kind of out of the ordinary situation, they are allowed to. But if they just want to do it for the hell of it..then thats a no no..

What I am asking the forum is if a TM can qualify on a line of road for the purposes of obtaining his class I license without violating a national agreement.