CSX Freight Conductor-Is It All Bad?

All I see or hear when I ask about being a Freight Conductor with CSX is negativie things. Actually, I hear a lot of negative things about CSX in general. I have been searching and searching for any and all information I can get about being a freight conductor with CSX as my husband is looking at applying back home in Massena, NY. Right now we live in Maine and are looking forward to being able to find something back home, in the North Country, where there are no jobs. Basically, I want to know everything, lol. I mean, all you ever hear about it is bad stuff. I am just wondering if it is really that bad?

First of all, I should give you a little background on my husband’s experience with CSX. I must admit that it hasn't been so good. After 10 years in the Navy, my husband, Michael, decided to get out so we could move back home to NY where my family lives. He had applied for and got hired as a Track Worker SPT with CSX in Syracuse, NY. He got out of the Navy, we left Maine, where we were stationed and we moved to NY, we actually moved in with my parents. We figured it would be best to live with them until he got his date to go to the REDI in Atlanta. So, we waited for the letter with his date and while a letter did come, it was not the letter we had been expecting. He got a letter telling him that due to the current economy he was no longer needed for the position and encouraged him to apply again in the future. So, here we were, at 30, living with my parents in Upstate NY where there are no jobs.

Well, it has been all downhill from there. So, as of now, Michael is currently working for P&G (Procter & Gamble) in Maine as we moved back to Maine when we could find nothing in NY after a year there. The only problem is I really miss my family and friends back home. We saw that CSX was hiring for Freight Conductor in Selkirk, NY and Michael actually went and interviewed with them about 3 months ago and they wanted to hire him since he had already been through all the medical stuff and had technically already been hired. Well, he turned it down once we looked at the cost of living in Selkirk, NY which is about 4 hours away from my family. But now, they are actually hiring 5 people in Massena, NY for freight conductor, which is where I am from and where my family is. Sounds like a no brainer right? The only problem is, all we have heard is bad things about the job. They told Michael at the interview that they only give you 1 week of vacation a year for the first 5 years you are there and I can’t remember what they told him the pay was. Everyone says that he will be gone ALL the time and that he will never have a set schedule so I will never see him. I mean, I am used to him being gone since he was in the military for 10 years and he was out of the country all the time, most of the time, I didn't even know where he was. I also hear they are treated like crap. So, no vacation, low pay, long hours and then being treated badly doesn’t exactly sound like the ideal job. On the other hand, I realize that some people are just bitter about the railroad and don’t have the mentality that my husband does to do his job and do it well. He likes to put his all into something and actually get somewhere with it. He is a worker and likes to succeed. He puts his all into everything and doesn’t mind working hard to get there. And please don’t think I am bragging, I just know that a lot of these people complaining are probably very lazy and don’t really care about what they do.

So, basically, I would welcome any input anyone has, good or bad. Is it really as bad as they say it is? I just know it can’t all be bad because if that was the case, no one would be doing it, or maybe it can, lol. Any and all information would be great. Making a career move, not to mention a housing move is a big deal and I would like to be a little prepared or know if we should even bother. Thanks in advance for any information
Amber

Hello,

Welcome to the forums. I am actually going to send this to the Employment Forum on here, where many current, past, and other future railroaders frequent. You should get a lot of feedback! Good luck to you and your husband, hopefully something good will turn about!

Charlie

budbailey21 » Sun Jul 31, 2011 10:42 am wrote:

On the other hand, I realize that some people are just bitter about the railroad and don’t have the mentality that my husband does to do his job and do it well. He likes to put his all into something and actually get somewhere with it. He is a worker and likes to succeed. He puts his all into everything and doesn’t mind working hard to get there. And please don’t think I am bragging, I just know that a lot of these people complaining are probably very lazy and don’t really care about what they do.

While it is true that some worthless people hire out that have no bullishness being out here do like to complain, many do give it their all.

But there's only so much you can take being treated like crap. Just about all RRers complain. That's how we deal with it.

It's like any other job, good and bad. It's not nearly as bad some make it out to be. I quit my job that I had for 15 years to work for CSX, it was one of the best things I've ever done. I would never go back to the field I was in. I think there are some problems, but overall it's more good than bad.

Well, I am glad to hear something positive. Obviously making a career change is a big step in life, especially when you are in your 30's and moving from one State to another is just as big. But all I have heard is the negative. No time off, only a weeks vacation every year for the first 5 years, horrible pay. The list goes on and on. I know he will be gone but I am used to that. Being near family will definitely help with that. Then I heard that "his days off won't be his days off, they could call him in at anytime". Obviously, weekends off is out of the question and working every holiday is a given but I just didn't think it could be all bad since so many do it and so few get selected to do it.

Since your husband turned them down once, I doubt that they will give him another chance.

gp80mac wrote:budbailey21 » Sun Jul 31, 2011 10:42 am wrote:

On the other hand, I realize that some people are just bitter about the railroad and don’t have the mentality that my husband does to do his job and do it well. He likes to put his all into something and actually get somewhere with it. He is a worker and likes to succeed. He puts his all into everything and doesn’t mind working hard to get there. And please don’t think I am bragging, I just know that a lot of these people complaining are probably very lazy and don’t really care about what they do.

While it is true that some worthless people hire out that have no bullishness being out here do like to complain, many do give it their all.

But there's only so much you can take being treated like crap. Just about all RRers complain. That's how we deal with it.

I totally agree. I think that is how the majority of us deal with our work BS :o)

jz441 wrote:Since your husband turned them down once, I doubt that they will give him another chance.

I know, I thought about that too. All he can do is try. I know that there are 5 openings for Massena, NY and have been for about 6 months now. It is hard to fill the position up there do to the drug usage rate and inability to pass the background check which is sad because it would make a good job for a lot of people.

It's 1 week vacation for 2 years plus 5 personal leave days. Will he have to travel? It's a railroad.

The only things that keep me here:

1. The money/health/retirement. (One big conglomo of things I guess you could say...)
2. I'm a whistledick.

Other than that, this place sucks. Even if you try to make the best of it, it's like they go out of there way to make your life a living hell. The callers walk all over the agreement, they come out with more and more nonsensical rules everyday, the good people are few and far between, and the management is sadistic. Very few other jobs/companies treat their employees this way. Not that I think the RR owes me anything, -they don't. But it's fine if you're okay with being a 6-digit number on some computer screen.

Having put in my entire adult working life with the railroad I have some feelings about this one.
Pros: Do your job according to the rules and keep your nose clean and you'll do just fine, I did. It is still an intresting job and every day is different from yesterday. The equipment today is far better, more dependable, more comfortable and better than the equipment of yesteryear in just about every respect. Today you have good heat, AC in many cases, decent seats for the most part, refrigerators in the cab, a toilet which is usually fit to use and if it is not it should be reported, decent radio communication between the engineer and the conductor when making a switching move or with the train dispatcher direct without a third party which results in a safer working envioronment just about all of the time and a tighter hours of service law which makes for safer conditions and better opportunities for decent rest although more is needed. Pay for the crews is far better than in the past and you have good medical and dental coverage as well and yes you have Railroad Retirement to look forward to when your time to go has come. I have lived on Railroad Retirement for quite a few years and although I could use an increase, it is still better and more dependable than many private pension plans.
Cons: Over eagar officials whom seem to delight in making conditions difficult for people on the road, I don't think there are too many of these anymore but the fewer the better, just remember that today they are under federal requirements to do signal checks, speed checks, performance checks and other checks on all crews in both the road and yard, this is not a company option but a federal requirement and the company MUST provice evidence to the FRA that this is being done on a regular basis. Calling the signals on the radio and general radio congestion, I do not condone the company practice of calling the signal indications on the radio especially if the railroad has cab signals in use but I do understand the reason that this is required.
Railroad work especially on the road, extra lists and pools is uncertain but that is know when you hire out, either you deal with it or you should find other employment. As you acquire seniority in time to come you will deal with less uncertain conditions and better time off but that comes with seniority and not in your early years. Yes I retired on a very good job both regarding hours but pay and time off too but I paid my dues in "BOOT CAMP" for many years and even more years on jobs that while paying well, were nowhere near as desirable as the one I retired off. Would I recomment this kind of work to somebody today, yes definately but with come conditions first. Number one, I would sit the person down for a heart to heart talk, lots of questions both ways, explaining to the person just exactly what they can expect to deal with in ther work on the railroad and the good points and bad points and believe me, there are plenty of both. There is a lot more to the job than just waving out the window when you go by somebody, A nice day on a road freight with a good crew, good power, everything going good, good weather and it is a great job. A cold, rainy or snowy night with fog, water, overloaded train, poor cab heat, grouchy engineer or conductor and various other things and the job sucks. You will experience both, I hope the former more than the later but you will experience both and you have got to take the bad with the good.
A quick story here and I will end this long discourse. One day westbound out of Selkirk in my Conrail days as the engineer on TVLA which was probably about the hottest train on the line I had a conductor and a head end brakeman with me and the conductor required the brakeman to ride with us on the lead unit which made the brakeman (not too long on the railroad and he caught the job off the extra list) pretty upset to say the least. From Selkirk to Utica which is 100 miles he sat over on the other side with the conductor and did nothing but complain. Finally at Utica I had enough and asked him why he stayed on the railroad being that he was so unhappy with the job. His reply was that he could not make this kind of money anywhere else. My reply was "SHUT THE F*&^ up, he did open his yap again for the next 200 miles to Buffalo and the conductor was all over me with thank yous later on.
Noel Weaver

This job can be whatever you make it to be. Yes the officials screw with us all the time, yes we work in less than desirable conditions, yes we stay gone a lot. But at the end of the day I take my boots off and forget all about the RR. It's not a perfect job by any means, yes we complain, but we have earned that right.

If you cant stand being away from each other, then he should not apply. I miss out on everything because of work. The upside is I make good money, way more than most people I know who have college educations. There's always a tradeoff, you just have to decide which one you want the most.

Thanks guys. I truly do appreciate the information. I still don't know if he is going to apply or not but this definitely helps a lot. Like I said, I am used to him being gone. He was in the military afterall so that is common. And the fact that Massena is such a small place, I don't know if that matters as to how much he is gone. I guess they do a lot of runs to Canada? So, not really sure what he is going to do yet. Still just looking at our options.

CSX isn't by far the most employee friendly workplace. The job itself isn't all that bad. As long as you can take being on call 24/7 and being away from home(if your on the road). The company just sadly makes it harder than it should be. When I first hired out I was told the Company is there to hire you to fire you. I just thought these old heads were just grumpy old guys that just hated the company. But after the time out here, I have found that to be true. I've seen the company officers lie through their teeth and get guys on very small stupid things. They make the rules as they go and change them to their liking. You have to remember that these rules are made by people with 9-5 jobs that have weekends off. They have no clue what goes on out on the railroad. Just look at their attendance policy and their attack on FMLA. Then you have payroll that loves to deny your claims and get out of paying you what you deserve. The company really doesn't care about anything or anyone but their profits and stock price. They will furlough you for years and not care about the investment they have made in you. But if your willing to put up with all this, it is a real good paying job(one the few out there). The job also isn't all that hard either once you get all the rules and territory down. Just be ready to become a huge union supporter(if your not already one), cause they will save your job a few times and get you paid for what you are entitled!

DRay

The claims game has been going on forever. The railroad knows if they deny the claim 85% won't forward it to the LC to handle it. I'm retired and still waiting on at least $9000 in claims that were put in during 2008-2009 that doesn't include ones from other years. Who know's one friday I might have a check deposited in my checking account. The only thing one can bank on is actual earning if a claim is paid that's gravy over the meat. As far as CSX management it has gotten worse. I went to the union meeting this month and they have gone nutz. A new one is "multi-tasking" a friend of mine got 15 days in the street because he was working a rock train he was in one of the industries a train came along on an adjacent track he told them they looked alright on the radio. The multi tasking was seeing he was in the industry he wasn't focused by observing another train. I can't figure who makes this stuff up? That's something we've done since railroads began. This conductor has well over 30 years on the railroad. Go figure.