Train Dispatcher CBA

[ATCFoxtrot]

During the interview process for train dispatcher trainee, the HR Reps there said the dispatcher union were in the middle of a CBA and that the pay scale was likely to increase. Does anyone have an update for this? Also i was wondering what the pay scale is for seniority, as in i'm assuming that a 20 yr old veteran dispatcher isn't getting paid the same as a freshly qualified dispatcher. Any help would be appreciated. Also, can someone tell/assure me of the job security as a dispatcher is. Would it be better for job security to try and get one of the remote facilities i.e. houston, san bernadino or kansas city. Thank you

[COEN77]

I'll have to look up CBA that's a new one for me. The train dispatchers union just reached a tenative contract last week which hasn't been presented to the members for ratification. 11 unions were deadlocked with negotiations. Obama under the Railway Labor Act created a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) in October. The deadline under a 60 day cooling off period under the PEB was set to expire 12/06/11. If negotiations failed the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineer & Trainmen would of went on strike at 0001 tonight. What I've read information is scarce till ratification it calls for a 20+% increase in wages over 6 years. Basic wages are the same no matter if a person is new or has 20 years. Unless under a contract agreement a craft has a hire in progressive entry rate some do which means a new hire gets 75% then increases 5% per year till it reaches 100%. The biggest advantage for a 20 year person thru seniority better pick of assignments.

[ATCFoxtrot]

What I meant by cba was collective bargaining agreement. Thanks for all the info. How is the job security? Does location have anything to do with it? As in are less likely to get furloughed if u work as a dispatcher anywhere except ft worth? Thank you for your time

[Gadfly]

Nobody can TELL you that. it depends on what seniority roster you are on, not necessarily your location. If you are on a systemwide seniority list, it goes by 'first hired, last fired'. If it is a "district" seniority list it is still" first hired, last fired". Either way it means that if you are on, or near, the bottom of your list, YOU are going to be first to go if there's a 'reduction in force', OR if a job is abolished. The senior employees can "roll", or bump, you off your position and then you must place yourself wherever you can according to the Agreement. So if someone in another town gets bumped, he *could* feasibly bump YOU off your job in your town, and so on. Nobody can tell you these things. If you want the job, you must accept the conditions and agreements that go with it and hope you can build "whiskers" before that happens.


GF

[ATCFoxtrot]

Ok thank you for your time

[COEN77]

LOL! I worked & retired on the railroad never heard it put as a CBA. I should of gathered it meant collective bargaining.

Gadfly is correct no one can answer a question on job security to many factors. I will state that certian crafts like train dispatchers would be less threatened with possible furloughs than someone in the transportation crafts (conductor/locomotive engineer - T&E) or maintenance of way (track worker - MOW). T&E & MOW have to deal with seasonal weather conditions. T&E can be subjected to a decline in freight traffic in any form of business which includes weather conditions with seasonal freight. They'll always be a need for a train dispatcher wether the railroad is running 3 trains or 30 trains a day on a specific line. It that regards if there is any such thing as job security on the railroad train dispatchers would have a better chance.

[ATCFoxtrot]

Great thank you both very much, hopefully I should get my final job offer here shortly.

[hbgdispatcher]

They'll always be a need for a train dispatcher wether the railroad is running 3 trains or 30 trains a day on a specific line. It that regards if there is any such thing as job security on the railroad train dispatchers would have a better chance.

There's the rub, If the railroad is only running 3 trains a day on the line, they will cut that dispatcher's job off and combine it with another territory as is happening more and more often. I have been in our dispatch office for over 10 years now and we have lost 12 positions in 10 years - no one has been furloughed, but every time you move up a little in seniority another job goes and you are right back where you started. At least in T&E service they can put new trains on when business picks up, once a dispatch position is gone, they never put a job back on, no matter how much business picks up or how busy the desk gets. The original poster did not say what railroad he was applying for, but at least on NS your seniority roster only covers the office you are working in. There is no moving from office to office. The new national agreement will cover the dispatchers on CSXT and BNSF, NS dispatchers are under a seperate (and might I add worse) on property agreement with the NS and are not covered under the national agreement except as it applies to Health and Welfare.

As for pay scale, you have a 5 year step rate where you make 80%-85%-90%-95% etc of what the basic days pay is for your craft. Once you have the years in for the step rate every dispatcher no matter what their term of service is makes the same daily rate as per the contract. Having been both in T&E and a dispatcher, I can say there are pros and cons to both jobs, neither is a bed of roses. As a disptcher, expect to spend much more time on the extra list than you probably would as a conductor, depending on how "old" the office is seniority wise and how many retirements are coming up (and how many jobs are cut), you should expect to wait at least 5 years or more until you can hold a regular job, and maybe as many as 10 years. The extra list life is not quite as bad as it is for T&E folks, in that there are only 3 shifts a day you can be called for, but be prepared to not know your work schedule more than a day or two in advance for many years to come - it can be hard on your home life.

[COEN77]

You're right railroads have been combining dispatcher boards. Train dispatchers on CSX usually cover multiple subdivisions & yards could be up to 500 miles of track. When I hired out in 1977 till the early '90s there was a TD for every subdivision. CSX in the mid-'90s moved all the train dispatching operations to Jacksonville, Fla to a centralized dispatching center. In 2009 they split it up to 4 different locations on the system. I remember a few years back a hacker got into the CSX train dispatching centers computers shut the entire railroad down. It was a mess. Every train on it's 30,000 miles of track were at a stand still. I was caught up in it. We had to get verbal permission by signals and put switches on hand throw . We went 20 miles in 12 hours with another 5 hour wait till a van became available to pick us up.

[williams8987]

Does anyone knows if any company are currently looking for train dispatchers? I would appreciate it.

[NaDspr]

If you're looking for Train Dispatcher jobs...........
Keep checking the various railroad web sites and the Railroad Retirement Board postings at rrb.gov.
Usually the larger railroads hire in bunches. It makes the cost of training a lot more cost effective for them
to hire and train new dispatchers.
I was on the extra board for only 1 1/2 years before I owned a regular job and it was a 2nd trick job.
I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Federal hours of service regulations require train
dispatchers to have 15 hours off between shifts. Much better than the T&E hours. I'm glad
I made the switch.

[Gadfly]

They'll always be a need for a train dispatcher wether the railroad is running 3 trains or 30 trains a day on a specific line. It that regards if there is any such thing as job security on the railroad train dispatchers would have a better chance.

There's the rub, If the railroad is only running 3 trains a day on the line, they will cut that dispatcher's job off and combine it with another territory as is happening more and more often. I have been in our dispatch office for over 10 years now and we have lost 12 positions in 10 years - no one has been furloughed, but every time you move up a little in seniority another job goes and you are right back where you started. At least in T&E service they can put new trains on when business picks up, once a dispatch position is gone, they never put a job back on, no matter how much business picks up or how busy the desk gets. The original poster did not say what railroad he was applying for, but at least on NS your seniority roster only covers the office you are working in. There is no moving from office to office. The new national agreement will cover the dispatchers on CSXT and BNSF, NS dispatchers are under a seperate (and might I add worse) on property agreement with the NS and are not covered under the national agreement except as it applies to Health and Welfare.

As for pay scale, you have a 5 year step rate where you make 80%-85%-90%-95% etc of what the basic days pay is for your craft. Once you have the years in for the step rate every dispatcher no matter what their term of service is makes the same daily rate as per the contract. Having been both in T&E and a dispatcher, I can say there are pros and cons to both jobs, neither is a bed of roses. As a disptcher, expect to spend much more time on the extra list than you probably would as a conductor, depending on how "old" the office is seniority wise and how many retirements are coming up (and how many jobs are cut), you should expect to wait at least 5 years or more until you can hold a regular job, and maybe as many as 10 years. The extra list life is not quite as bad as it is for T&E folks, in that there are only 3 shifts a day you can be called for, but be prepared to not know your work schedule more than a day or two in advance for many years to come - it can be hard on your home life.

Some things dont change much. The railroad is always looking to cut jobs. If they can cut you off, they WILL. We used to have this "efficiency" guy, who was an ex-clerk, that came around every once in awhile and started rifling thru waybills. He'd sit in a chair at the waybill rack and thumb thru stacks of paper and we'd say, "Uh OH! Somebody's job is going bye bye". We called him "The Cutworm" behind his back, and sure 'nuff, when he left. there'd be a couple of those abolishment bulletins that said: :Effective with termination of business on (fill in the date), the following position is abolished: Assistant Cashier", going on to describe the time, rate, and shift, etc. Then the "roll" would begin, often all the way down to the Extra Board. Somebody was going out the door! Rough!

GF