The LIRR divides up the Railroad into "Sections" with each section having a Section Dispatcher in charge of it. That Dispatcher then relays Train Orders, authorities and messages to trains through the Towers in their respective section. The Section Dispatchers are subordinate to the Chief Train Dispatcher. At any one time, there are four Section Dispatchers (because there are four sections) and one Chief. Their jobs are some of the most stressful on the Railroad and very important to the operation. Without them, the Railroad wouldn't run.
There are two kinds of towermen in charge of a tower. One is a Block Operator, which has to ask his Section Dispatcher for permission for most anything he does, and there are Train Directors, whom do not have to go to the Dispatcher for permission to enact their decisions. Directors are found in most of the busiest towers since having to ask a Dispatcher for permission to make every move would drive the Dispatcher insane due to the volume of movements.
The Block Operators make the least per hour, then come the Directors, Section Dispatchers and the top salary is the Chief. As their responsibility increases, so does there salary. All Dispatchers are considered "Conductor Qualified" meaning they have the same qualifications as a Conductor but, they have to receive a minimum 90% on all their testing as opposed to 75% for Conductors and Engineers.
This whole group are some of the most important employees on the LIRR and absolutely essential to it's operation. I was a Locomotive Engineer and we always prided ourselves on our importance to the Company, but the aforementioned employees are where it all begins and without them, we would not be able to move anything.