When a RR worker gets Furloughed- what is the action plan ?

I am the wife of a RR worker ...my husband has not been laid off YET...with seeing all the "cutting" happening all over the United States, co-workers being laid off in the past months.. Every day.. we are waiting for the Ax to fall, assuming more layoffs, even a closed shop may be coming...

Having never walked through this ...Can someone who has been there.. explain what steps to take if he goes to work & is sent home Un-employed?

He has 17 yrs in (hired steadily since May 1999)...some are telling him he has ENOUGH time in to collect Railroad Retirement someday.. then others are saying ONLY IF HE STAYS ON THE RAILROAD or he looses it all.. it reverts back to Social Security -if he takes any job outside the RR ... (We have 2 sons in college this year..still 3 left at home, income is pretty important right now)...

Trying to understand what we will be facing ...what are the Options a Railroader has, what is a wise choice....Travel to another RR if a position is open, rent a 1 room apartment living away from family to keep his Retirement.... or let it go - and have it all go back to Social Security ?? We are not clear on how this works. the things we have heard vary from person to person..

If you have walked through it, your family affected, understanding the "Requirements", the best way to manoeuvre through this transition -for those who've lost their jobs ... please share ...

I have recently taken a job with an option for Family health benefits (if this happens)... We are bracing ourselves .... but still my pay is only a fraction of what my Husband brings home every week..

Call the RR retirement board, they can explain the nitty-gritty details of what will or won't happen if he leaves RR service. I've always had good luck with my local branch, the folks there always seemed ready to help the best they could.

As to what to do if the layoff comes, I would look to see if I could bump to another location, or barring that try to find another RR that was hiring. But I am single with no kids, so my options and choices are drastically different.

Thank you for taking the time to reply Rovetherr.... we called the RR Retirement board today...this is what we learned...

He is "VESTED"...the representative used that term a # of times.. so that means.. even if he takes a Job outside of the Railroad if he gets laid off in the near future.. when it comes to retiring, he still has the choice to take RR retirement.. he can get it at 62 (10 yrs from now) but it would be at a reduced rate (25% less) .. or wait till age 65... he threw out some figure as of right now.. (if he had those 30 yrs in).. it would be $2,244 a month ...

Now if he DIES before Retirement age.. I'd be solely out of luck as his widow and be dependent on Social Security.. so there was some talk how I need to keep him alive.. stay off motorcycles, racing cars sort of thing...ha ha

Time for salads and a steady exercise regiment! LOL

Glad you were able to get some answers, these are rough times in the industry. I hope it works out alright for y'all, and everyone else that is not in a secure place right now.

If he gets cut, just one start a month will count. Maybe some short line would use him as a spare once in a while. Another gig is to get elected to the union. Larger locals/divisions have paid help. If he can politic his way into something higher, that would work too, even if it is only a day or two per month. They pay Railroad Retirement. We had a yardmaster who lost out. He got a job as a clerk with a short line. He worked weekends for a few years, until he could retire.