Wrongfully fired it appears (CN).

CN_Hogger wrote:CN really isn't that bad. Extra boards with regular days off and a pretty high pay rate. There's people that I work with that would have been fired many times over if they were on another Class I RR that are still working. (I.E.: tearing up A LOT of equipment!)

You're correct, working for the CN from a Chicago terminal wouldn't be that bad. It's rare that you guys run beyond Champaign, correct? Try running from Centralia to Champaign and tying-up. Then you're called to run from Champaign to Markham, wait an hour for a van, and then spend the next 5-hours on the highway going back to Centralia. Another 15+ hour day. Same old song, it all depends upon your perspective.........

Good to hear CN isn't as bad to work for as everyone says.

jg greenwood wrote:
You're correct, working for the CN from a Chicago terminal wouldn't be that bad. It's rare that you guys run beyond Champaign, correct? Try running from Centralia to Champaign and tying-up. Then you're called to run from Champaign to Markham, wait an hour for a van, and then spend the next 5-hours on the highway going back to Centralia. Another 15+ hour day. Same old song, it all depends upon your perspective.........

Well, I was one of the few that got qualified to Bluford this past spring/summer so I do run past Champaign. One thing we'll get a lot is being on a yard job for 6-8 hours and then getting sent out on a road train then DHing back to Markham. I can't tell you how many 15+ hour days I've had in the last 5-6 months. I understand what you're talking about but I still don't think it's that bad since we've got regular days off every week. I don't know about you but I like making money, albeit blood money as it may seem.

CN_Hogger wrote:

jg greenwood wrote:
You're correct, working for the CN from a Chicago terminal wouldn't be that bad. It's rare that you guys run beyond Champaign, correct? Try running from Centralia to Champaign and tying-up. Then you're called to run from Champaign to Markham, wait an hour for a van, and then spend the next 5-hours on the highway going back to Centralia. Another 15+ hour day. Same old song, it all depends upon your perspective.........

Well, I was one of the few that got qualified to Bluford this past spring/summer so I do run past Champaign. One thing we'll get a lot is being on a yard job for 6-8 hours and then getting sent out on a road train then DHing back to Markham. I can't tell you how many 15+ hour days I've had in the last 5-6 months. I understand what you're talking about but I still don't think it's that bad since we've got regular days off every week. I don't know about you but I like making money, albeit blood money as it may seem.

My mistake. The misery is...."system wide".
Now, if only we could prevail upon someone to address the "nearest supply point" issue, Centralia might be a much more pleasant place to work. I'm sure you're aware of the fact that Centralia routinely takes up the slack for the Champaign extra board come the weekends. Oh well, I guess we can't have everything, can we?

jg greenwood wrote:
My mistake. The misery is...."system wide".
Now, if only we could prevail upon someone to address the "nearest supply point" issue, Centralia might be a much more pleasant place to work. I'm sure you're aware of the fact that Centralia routinely takes up the slack for the Champaign extra board come the weekends. Oh well, I guess we can't have everything, can we?

Well, we've got the wonderful Chicago Terminal Agreement, which sets a 'standard' for filling vacant jobs when a given extra board is exhausted. Which for us from the IC & CCP side isn't too bad since they don't have any of us qualified on the BRC or IHB to go anywhere, but the GT and WC guys are qualified just about everywhere on the terminal.

I can only recall one time that I've been called to DH down to Champaign to cover one of their jobs. I do really like the new rest cycles on the board though, I've about turned my 2 days off this week into 4!

I think that you might possibly water down your case by accepting other employment right know. You reduce the urgency by being employed by another RR. You most likely need to put in all your energies into vigorously putting up an active offense at this point to win your job back, if that's what you want.

Dieter wrote:Ditto UPRR - What did you do? If you're in the Union, they should be screaming for you. CN needs people desperately in Ontario - may I ask which Province or State you're in? I don't get from the location you're giving where you are. There's a Hawthorne in New Jersey, another one in New York - there's lots of Hawthornes about.

They can't just fire you like that, if you're out of your probationary period.

Dieter/

Illinois

Well good news for me. I got my job back and I start back up on 29 Oct 07. The union and company made a deal with me getting my seniority, all medical, and time off owed to me. The deal is to cancel the appeal with no backpay. To me its a victory, I just want to work, the pay is great, the benifits you cannot beat anywhere.

During this, I was left with no job insurance (didnt qualify since I switched RR's it appears), took way too long for RR unemployment, and even then it wasnt even worth the effort. I was almost homeless, but thankgod for state aid :/. Credit was ruined. Finding a job was very stressful. Other RR's just didnt want to touch me with this appeal case hanging over my head, so I was stuck looking for minimum wage jobs. I think some feel I screwed myself by not waiting for the labor board desicion, but if you where in my shoes for the past 1.8 years, you would understand why I accepted this deal.

The reason I switched RR's was for more pay at CN compared to CSX. Let me be the first to say that money isnt everything. Yep I took a gamble giving up a perfectly good job at CSX to make a ton more at CN, and I got bit in the ass. Ya live and learn, sometimes the hard way.

There was no way I could gamble everything I had on waiting on the labor board decision. Just give me my job back, you keep the backpay. Got burned once over money, I certainly will not take the gamble once again. Working > waiting for the lottery jackpot backpay, or even the worse senario of not even getting my job back at all.

Great to be back to work (in about 3 weeks), loved being a conductor, and heres to a safe 30 years for retirement.

Wow, I just read all the older posts and that's pretty messed up. You sure have a good attitude considering the life of hell you've lived the past 1+ year. I sure hope everything works out for you this time.

I don't know much about class action lawsuits, but I would talk to your local chairman or your unions lawyers about backpay. If it really was the company's scewup for your firing then there's gotta be a way to get some compensation. Good luck.

Good to hear everything's back on, er, track

Good to hear Deadhead! Now you can be just as miserable as the rest of us in the 'happy' CN family!!

Good to hear you got your job back! I recently became unemployed because of the CN. On my way home from work one day, my 95 Talon's engine seized up on me, so after I made it home I called up our superintendent. He told me to take a day or two off to get a new vehicle, since I need a way to get to work. He even called the crew callers and gave me permission to lay off. So needless to say, I go and get my new vehicle (Subaru Outbacks are sweet, BTW!), and skip to a week later, I am on my way home from working a yard job in the terminal and I get a call from the labor relations lady, who called me to inform me (in a very nice, joyful tone) that my application for employment was rejected (I was still in my 60 day probie period). She of course didn't know why, so when I finally got ahold of the assistant super (big super was out at the time) I find out they are firing me because I took two days off in a row as a new hire on my probationary period. Big super would not stand up at all and now here I am At least RR unemployment will pay for my two vehicles and car insurance. Yay!

I left a nice engineer slot on the CP to make more money as a trainman on CN and got screwed...it sucks knowing hardly any money is coming in

But alas, its good to hear that you got your job back, good luck brother!

Damn Brakey, that is terrible news. My crap car almost did break down once during my probation, and I had thought I just might have to sprint to work one day for about 5 blocks. One thing I learned, in your 60 day probation period, you need to be invisible. Sorry to hear about your job, I truely hope you get hooked up in another RR. Its a shame that one bad day can ruin a career for something you could not control.

As for me, an interesting turn of events sorta happened to me today. I cant quite say what yet, or a certian someone can get in trouble. But ill fill you all in when its safe to do so. Cuz I now everyone on the RR loves drama lol.

Well I assume its in the books, but at this point I really dont care lol. Anyways, got a call from the union stewart saying this agreement, the one where I get everything but the backpay, we cannot let you sign this deal that the company has offered. I almost freaking lost it. Then after a few seconds, he reports that I won my case with full backpay. Well I was sorta speachless at that time. Seems the company was trying to drag things along since the ball was in there court, and the labor board took the ball away from them and threw it at there nuts.. man down man down! All I ever wanted to do was get back to work, now its gonna cost them $$ when they tried to be greedy.

Sorry to anyone if you all did not want this post in here. I just figured I would share my short experience from transfering RR's to CN and what can happen. Now its time to remember how to RR again, since I've been driving a tow truck for a few years now lol.

An interesting conundrum to say the least...

If you haven't named names, then I don't see any problem posting your experience, as it's an example of what can happen during one's probationary period working on the railroad.

Yet, one also has to ask whether or not yours or Brakey's are examples that are open to discusssion in a public forum.

I know this thread has been open for a year or so, but I will put it to those in the business... is this a valid topic for discussion in this forum, or not? Speak freely here, or PM me with your opinion.