Asst. Conductor

I am a 46 year old female who just attended the June 29 Assistant Conductors preliminary hiring fair. I think I did ok on the verbal and math exams because I was given a packet of rules and signals to study. If I pass the background check I guess I will be called back. My question is: If you pass the approx. 18 weeks of training, how long does it take to get your bearings as an Assistant Conductor? What are the novice common mistakes?
Thanks for your help. Myla

Study that package if you truly want the job. You'll be tested word for word on them and if you mess them up, they'll move on to someone else. The background check is generally a credit check. If you have bills that you don't pay or you pay late, you woun't be called.

This is a job that you never stop learning. Yes, your palms sweat for the first couple of months, but the longer you spend here the more you realize that you have to learn. If you take an interest, you'll learn something new each day that will make the job easier, more interesting and more lucrative.

Knowlege is safety, power and money around the Railroad. Common mistakes are expecting someone else to be paying attention; not managing youself when working unsupervised; arriving late; getting involved with other peoples' business, not paying attention, letting the passengers get you upset and not studying.

When you get comfortable as an assistant conductor, qualifying will come up and you'll be studying more than you ever did in your life.

Just keep a good attitude and study that package they gave you.

Hope to see you around, Myla.

Clemuel

I was at the June 29th interviews too. My interviewer said that I would definitely be getting a call for a panel interview. My question is, and the only reason I ask this is because a lot of people say you need a connection or family member on the inside to get in. Is that true, or even though I don't have any connections will I be garanteed a job as long as I do well in training and become confident in the rules and other proceedures? Thanks in advance!

You don't need anyone on the inside to get hired. You made the first step. If your credit is excellent, you have no arrests, bad traffic tickets medical problems and you pass the test, you should get called or a further interview.

But there are other tests down the road and nothing is certain until you receive your first paycheck. That's just how it is here.

Clem

If you get hired and start training, when you get out on the road as a
brand new employee two questions that will turn off the old times to you
are:
1. How much does this job pay.
2. What time does this job finish and when can I go home.

I answered the two questions this way:
1. When we get to the other end of the railroad and are relieved.
2. Call your union representative.

Noel Weaver

Noel Weaver wrote:If you get hired and start training, when you get out on the road as a
brand new employee two questions that will turn off the old times to you
are:
1. How much does this job pay.
2. What time does this job finish and when can I go home.

I answered the two questions this way:
1. When we get to the other end of the railroad and are relieved.
2. Call your union representative.

Noel Weaver

Actually now that you mention it, how long are the shifts usually? My current job we work most nights right up to the 12 hour limit. So clearly I'm not a character that's going to be complaining about wanting to go home lol


Clem, thanks again for your help with my previous question. You give very direct answers, which would piss some people off (not hearing what they want to hear) but I definitely appreciate the honesty. For me it just makes it easier to communicate that way,ya know?

I geuess they can work you up 12 hrs on the law, and then again in 4 or 5 hrs???

Long Island 7285 wrote:I geuess they can work you up 12 hrs on the law, and then again in 4 or 5 hrs???

Working twelve hours requires ten hours rest.
Working eleven hours and fifty nine minutes or less requires eight hours
rest.
Noel Weaver

In addition to what Noel just said , The company is allowed to call you once during your rest, even during 10 hours undisturbed.
so basicaly they can call you after 6 hours and notifying you to be at next job in two hours after that call.
With !0 hours rest they can call you say by the 8th hour after comming off duty, to be at next job 10 hours after finishing the job.
so the rest is not bed time but bed and travel time.
your rest starts after finishing the job, not when you get home.

Kinda sucks if you have a long drive to your on duty point. The engineer for the switcher job where I work lives about an hour away. Luckily there are only two jobs out of our terminal, and they're both night jobs...so he'll get a full 12 hours rest period.

When I was at the interview session with the LIRR they said that usually you will work 4 trains per shift. Now, the thing I forgot to ask...with you working 4 trains, does the final train end at the station you initially start at in the beginning of your shift, or do they sometimes get you dumped off on the other side of Long Island from where you started? I know it sounds kinda silly, but if you're the new guy and the guys with seniority have bumped you off a job forcing you to take a different one, in theory that is possible I'd imagine.

Every operating Union's agreement requires that you finish your tour at the same place you begin. Most all crafts require that of the Company.

Now you may start in Far Rockaway and your last train may leave you in New York, but you'll be on the clock until the next scheduled train gets you back to Far Rockaway. You can leave your car where you wish, either driving to New York and taking a train to start your job or driving to Far Rock and taking the train back.

The process makes for lots of games. What if service back to Far Rockaway is disrupted? You'll be on the clock until the first train gets you there. Generally this holds true even if the outage takes hours and hours to restore so you're paid long after you've taken the cab home and had your first Scotch.

Of course, most jobs get you back within your eight hour straight day, so in reality you are working far less than eight hours.

Hope that answers your concerns.

Clem

Yup, thanks Clem.

I actually thought of yet another question I want to ask. Sorry for the random questions here and there lol

What does the LIRR consider overtime, anything over 8 hours in a day, or is it anything over 40 hours in a week? I guess talking about income, also, do you get a paycheck weekly, or bi-weekly?

Hmm, I think I have all of my questions out of my system. Sorry again for the large amount of questions I ask you

RPM,

Overtime is generally after eight hours in a day under most contracts. Some crafts pay you overtime for relief days even if you haven't worked fourty hours in the prior week. Some have provisions for doubletime when working your second relief day.

Depending on the craft, there are several other ways to make additional earnings. For example, engineers get "time on time" (additional straight time) when working outside of their published and awarded assignment. They also get a penalty claim of a day's pay when working in two classes of service (switching out a trian they did not operate on the road). Conductors get a half day's pay for this. On their extra list engineers can work two tours in a 24 hour period. That is why engineers generally earn more money for less hours work than do trainmen.

The engineers have more of these perks or "arbitraries," because the conductors gave them back in the '70's to earn parady pay with the engineers. Prior to that engineers' base pay was higher.

Many many more agreements (mileage pay, pay for turning seats, duplex money) were sold back to the Railroad to buy the coverted age 50 pension about 30 years ago, which was replaced 15 years ago with the present pension.

-------

You'll be paid every week on Thursday, for the pay period ending two Tuesdays earlier. One week's pay is held to help offset the State's financial problems. You're paid that week when you retire or leave at the prevailing rate. Some union agreements require direct deposit of your pay.

Several unions still are paid on Fridays for the week ending Tuesday. Management is paid on Friday for the week ending two Tuesdays earlier.

Clem

Myla / RPM,

Any updates regarding the hiring process?, how did you guys do on the test of the packet of signals / definitions that they gave you? btw, how many signals and definitions are in that initial packet that they gave you at the hiring fair june 29th?

Personally I haven't heard back from them yet. A little bit of a let down considering the person my primary interview was with, he seemed very interested and excited about my back ground. I still have my hopes up though. I'm enjoying my current job on the NECR, but as the days go by I miss working with customers more and more. I really do miss interacting with new people every day. I guess we'll see what happens. I'm hoping for the best.