Furloughs?

LongIslandTool wrote:The Company is planning to simply eliminate nearly 100+ positions from the crew book and not cover any open breaking or collectors jobs. The only overtime will be after eight hours.

No relief days! Cut the crew book! Time to put out the Rope and Razor blade alert.

Only one laughing here is you to yourself. If you kept up to date on current info you might benefit a brother employee. Sometimes craft egos get in the way. It's a dead issue. All the facts were stated. Anyone in their right mind would have made the same move. No arrogance here. I sensed there was some the way you first answered the thread.

Truth is never arrogance.

While you profess to be a former trainman who retired last year, I'm still employed as an officer of the company as I have been for well over three decades. I work quite closely with these issues every day.

It is not I who's not up to date.

Rehashing the last years' UTU chest-beating rhetoric, as though it were fact, does a disservice to your brothers.

Tool:

I have heard and been aware that they are looking to eliminate collector positions, the 8000 and 9000 numbered collector positions to be more specific. While the Greenport scoot runs with only a C & E, wouldn't the RR need to consult with the FRA regarding cuts in Brakemen positions? I was under the impression that the FRA required the RR to run trains with Brakemans. Any truth to that?

The only person currently required by the FRA is the Engineer. That is because that position must be filled by an employee who meets the requirements of CFR Part 240. What would require a carrier to have a Conductor or Brakeman would be crew consist agreements and scope rules in your union contract as well as practical realities of railroads. If the Conductor was the only person employed on the train and he met the requirements under Part 240, then he would be the "required" employee to be on the train. So this does not get taken the wrong way, it's not the title of the employee required, it's that persons' qualifications. Since a person normally titled "Engineer" can inspect and operate a train/locomotive and arrange for the train to enter the main, copy/execute paperwork, he would be the person "required" on the train by the FRA. Everything else is really the union agreements.

And as datenail knows so well, the UTU has no "manning rule" that requires any of their employees or a certain number of their employees to be on a train. A "change engine" crew made up of only the Engineer is an example of this.

The Railroad, however, could not easily have someone else do work that is exclusively theirs, which arbitration has generally ruled is collecting tickets. Their job would have to be changed sufficiently for the LIRR to replace trainmen with the members of another union or non-union workers.

Newsday's announcement of 1000 layoofs at the MTA:

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nass ... -1.1775855

You may not be able to view the file if you are not a Cablevision customer or one of NewdayOnline's 35 paying subscribers.

The announcement suggests these will be the 10% management layoffs discussed in the budget. The article does not address layoff of represented employees. The budget also calls for a 10% reduction in represented payroll.

In the NY Times version of the press release, the story relates mainly to Subway workers, with the article citing "hundreds" of token boot clerks, who are represented, being laid off tomorrow.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/23/nyreg ... mta&st=cse

The NY Post cites 600 management workers from all agencies being fired, along with 450 subway clerks as a beginning of the layoffs.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/layo ... Ib57UwZ4hM

LongIslandTool wrote:The NY Post cites 600 management workers from all agencies being fired, along with 450 subway clerks as a beginning of the layoffs.

Do not have a link (read actual paper on LIRR this morning), but 02/23/2010 Daily News page 2 had similar references:

"The layoffs will include more than 600 administrative staffers from the various Metropolitan Transportation Authority divisions - approximately 15% of the nonunionized workers doing administrative tasks, sources said."

"An additional 450 subway station agents are expected to lose their jobs, saving millions more, under cuts already approved, sources said."

You claim to be an officer of what company? You might want to keep your little handbook at your side so you could better respond to statements. Your advice is worthy of ignorance. If you proclaim to work with issues everyday, why would you tell a brother railroader to ignore the company policies, take a gamble and see if you don't get furloughed? Sounds to me like you're a company man and could care less about brother railroaders and their future! It is you doing a disservice to the employees!

As a Conductor, I am fully qualified on the rules and Characteristics of the Railroad.
I am responsible for the Train and its crews, all employees on the train are subject to the Conductors instructions.
I also arrange for the train to enter the main, copy/execute paperwork.
I am also trained to troubleshoot the equipment to help move a disabled train.
I am also trained in CPR and first aid.
A Conductor is NOT just a ticket taker, he is in Charge of the train.
I assist in the movement of Trains, back up trains on main track and yards, and sometimes have to be on the head end of disabled equipment while the engineer operates from another cab.
I really think the Ticket taker remark was uncalled for.
I and other Conductors took our job seriously, and were professionals.

LongIslandTool wrote:Newsday's announcement of 1000 layoofs at the MTA:

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nass ... -1.1775855

You may not be able to view the file if you are not a Cablevision customer or one of NewdayOnline's 35 paying subscribers.

The announcement suggests these will be the 10% management layoffs discussed in the budget. The article does not address layoff of represented employees. The budget also calls for a 10% reduction in represented payroll.

In the NY Times version of the press release, the story relates mainly to Subway workers, with the article citing "hundreds" of token boot clerks, who are represented, being laid off tomorrow.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/23/nyreg ... mta&st=cse

The NY Post cites 600 management workers from all agencies being fired, along with 450 subway clerks as a beginning of the layoffs.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/layo ... Ib57UwZ4hM

There was also an article on Page 2 of the Daily news about the cuts. I don't want to see anyone lost their jobs....period.....be it management/secretarial or labor.

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/201 ... icits.html

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/201 ... grade.html

What got my attention is how the work force reduction would "save" $50 million dollars, all the while a related article directly below the above mentioned article stated that the MTA is set to spend $700 million....yes $700 million.....on station repairs and rehabilitations. Some of the stations were recently completely overhauled and need emergency repairs! (I know this pertains to the subway, but it still got my temper up!) Why aren't those responsible for those disasters answering questions? How could the MTA and politicians explain that to the tax paying public? "Yes, we spent million to fix up the stations, but the contractors we hired did shoddy work, and we signed off anyways because we love to p&$%s away your money, so now we have to spend millions more to fix their mistakes...Thanks you for riding the MTA."

My suggestion to the MTA would be save the 1,000+ jobs and spend $650 million on emergency repairs!

This MTA is out of control, and in the hands of some very disgraceful politicians and high level management. Will the show ever drop on these bumbling idiots?

LIengineerBob wrote:This MTA is out of control, and in the hands of some very disgraceful politicians and high level management. Will the show ever drop on these bumbling idiots?

I have said this many times about the MTA: No DIRECT accountablility to tax payers and riders = poor managment. What does the MTA management care about decisions when they are given pensions regardless of the outcome of their decisions and the tax payers and riders are left footing the bill for both the bad decisions and those pensions!

Thanks for posting the Daily New links.

Permit The Tool to elaborate a bit on his previous statements, because it's apparant that he is being misunderstood or not coming across in the manner he wished.

Engineer Trainee returning to Conductor

I discussed personally the decision made by an engineer trainee to return to his former craft just prior to graduation from the Engineers' Training program. He was forced to make this decision in essentially one day under the pending threat of layoffs. The advice he received from union officials at the time was self serving and of questionable value. He opted for the safe route which would guarantee his continued employment and enable him to best provide for his family.

He was under the gun to make that decision -- a situation which was immorally put upon him and perhaps illegally placed upon him, Talk is cheap, and to repeat what I told him, in light of the situation, I believe he took the best action. He can probably revisit another craft at a future date.

What I am strongly advocating is that others do their research NOW to avoid being placed in a similar position. What choice would you make if given a day to choose between threats of layoffs and giving up seniority on a roster? You must do your homework NOW so if that day comes you have a well though out and supported answer. The last thing anyone should be forced to do is fight with their employer and/or union without having the facts. SOmetimes it takes some work and some expense to get the facts.

I strongly believe that there is lots of misinformation out there. That is why I am encouraging anyone who sees thenselves in this position in the future to seek competent independent counsel NOW.

Conductor Duties

Apologies to UTU guy and anyone I may have offended in mentioning the primary responsibility of a trainman is collecting tickets. Understand my statement in the context in which it was posed. The UTU's "scope" agreement forbids the railroad from substituting another craft to do work that is exclusively theirs. There is no doubt that trainmen have many duties. But, as was the case on other properties, many of those duties are held jointly with other crafts. Those duties can be transfered to another craft without the violation of the agreement. For example, on a change engine crew, the engineer is the only man in the crew. He assumes the responsibilities of most of the conductors' duties. He gets train orders, switches, is in general charge, etc. He cannot collect tickets, because that is the EXCLUSIVE duty of the trainmen.

My attempt was to illustrate that should fare collection be given over to an automated off-train system, there is no scope agreement that requires a conductor or trainman on every train.

This is in contract with the Engineers' agreement that states every train operated on the LIRR will be operated by a LIRR engineer. Without going into the NYAR debacle, I was contrasting the two agreements.

Tool hopes these explanations clear up any misconceptions and does apologize for misunderstanding, evil feelings and any other maladies caused by his elocutions.

In Newsday's latest story, LIRR President Williams is quoted saying that 90 managers jobs will be cut "mostly through buyouts".

As she has increased the ranks of managers far more than 90 people by hiring former coworker rejects from Suozzi's office, the numbers could be reached by simply vacating her appointments.

But if that was done, you'd be laying off political hacks rather than seasoned career railroaders.

She would never do that.

LongIslandTool wrote:In Newsday's latest story, LIRR President Williams is quoted saying that 90 managers jobs will be cut "mostly through buyouts".

As she has increased the ranks of managers far more than 90 people by hiring former coworker rejects from Suozzi's office, the numbers could be reached by simply vacating her appointments.

But if that was done, you'd be laying off political hacks rather than seasoned career railroaders.

She would never do that.

These kinds of shenanigans EXACTLY represent my statement above. WHY AND HOW DO THESE PEOPLE GET AWAY WITH THIS STUFF!!

What a disgrace the entire MTA has become over the past 10 years or so. It never was the most efficient place in the world........members of my family have worked in the LABOR force of the MTA since its inception, so I am familiar on how it operates. But in the past few years it has gone out of control in my opinion.

As with any other "big business" today, THE LITTLE GUY GETS THE SHAFT, and the top management and brass reap all the benefits and have to answer to no one.

Something major has got to happen before these morons get the message.