what do extra board workers do while they wait for a call? what sort of jobs do they have or look for? what jobs allow an employee to leave or become unavailable on 90 minutes notice to work on the railroad and return 3 - 10 days later after the r.r. job is over, where they are welcome and return to work without penalty?
Ironken, was being a little bit facetious and sarcastic. Am well aware it doesn’t work out that way. Have tried twice to get into railroading and bombed out at the last interview both times. Sad part about it is that retail hours aren’t a whole lot better anymore and the pay really sucks. Forget about benefits! A decent plan eats up half your pay check and the company has the nerve to brag about how great it is.
Hey Train, I’ve read just about all the thread here. (I really like the jab about talking to the boys at the hobby shop…now there’s a sarcastic railroader!) But let’s say you go ahead with this big railroad career…and you suffer through EVERYTHING described here…and you stick with it (not getting hurt or worse)…and FINALLY, you get enough seniority to hold a regular job…when suddenly BINGO! Your seniority district is merged with others. Now you drop back down the new list. Then a few more years and POW! The union that pretends to represent you has sanctioned the use of technology that allows trainmen with less than 6 months service to run the black box engine on a job you’re not allowed to bid on! That’s my story…all of those things happened to me; my seniority covers three former districts on my home road, plus two segments of foreign railroads we took over…I have fewer job selections now than ten years ago. Guess where the younger men are in that mulligan stew. If you like trains, see if you can volunteer at some museum operation or see if you can work for some daisy-picker railroad on weekends. Let that satisfy your love of railroading and go out and get a job that allows you to have a life. Believe me, Train, the railroaders in this thread are TELLING IT AS IT IS!
Hey skeets, sounds like the RR has scraped the ol horn in your nether regions. I’m fairly new, but my sphyncter feels like that of an old head. I whole heartedly agree with what you said. The Kodak shine sure seems to wear off of the RR when you get to stand outside freezin your *** off switchin’ cars only to know that you will be furloughed in a few short weeks. I don’t even want to think about the black box. That daisy-picker thing you said is just plain funny!
Rairoads pay extra board employees 40 hours of pay per week regardless of whether they work or not. The real downside of this, however, is that they are on call, once they are “rested”. They may work 20, 30 or more days in a row with minimum time off. Don’t dare miss a call, however, and don’t mark off–extra board employees will usually have to give their lives to the railroad until they either quit, die, or finally get get enough seniority to hold a regular (ha-ha) job.
Hey train,
Cant speak for every railroad, but here at the port, the only job the extra board guys have is the extra board. They work almost every other shift, or every other eight hours. Ours is a guaranteed extra board, they are guaranteed to get paid a 12 day half if they stay marked up all 15 days in the half, even if the railroad dosnt use them… A half is the term used for a pay period, every 15 days, or “half” a month. Any other type of employeement would have to be of the self employeed style. Pays good, life style isnt.
Some of these kids and getting 90 to 95 straight hours and 40 to 50 overtime hours. Whew…too much for an old guy like me, I’ll keep my regular shift.
Ed
Man!, and I thought I had it rough. I don’t work on the RR, but my plant requires lots of O.T. from their junior employees. (I’m glad I have some seniority!). I gotta say though, 8 hours off between calls is INSANE! Of course, when accidents happen, management hurries to the scene, and wants everybody to pee in a cup! I am really disgusted with the way management treats its employees, Railroad or otherwise. At my place of work, 12 hour days, 5, maybe 6 days a week are commonplace. Now, they are even starting to work us holidays. (double-time and a half), But why not just hire some extra people, so we can lead a so called normal life? Corporate greed is why.
From a Teamster, to all you UTU, and BLE members out there, I know what you guys are going through. We have become the “slaves” of the 21st century. Sure, they pay us what they call “good” wages, but at what cost to our personal lives?
Yea, I know, I shoulda’ gone to college. But the cards just weren’t on the table for me when I was younger. I just hope I can put in another 20 years on the job, and get SOME sort of retirement security out of it. But with the way things are going now, I doubt it. I didn’t really want this posting to end on a political note, but I just gotta say, THANK YOU GEORGE W. BUSH!! You have made my life full of uncertainty, and fear. I wish somebody would bring Franklin D. Roosevelt back to life. At least HE knew how to save the country.
What is an Extra board? What does it mean to “Mark-off or Mark-on”.
TIM A
Get it straight, bub! Heddikai Tojo and Adolf Hitler ended the depression, not FDR. There were more unemployed in 1936/38 after all the tinkering, than there were in 1933. To stay in the string however, the extra list is for the young bucks; it would kill me today!
The extra board is a pool of guys or gals that the sole perpose is to cover vacancies for the people who mark off to protect their jobs. the term mark off is to take a day or two off. to mark up means to make yourself avalible for work. the extra board contrary to the postings here are for anyone no matter what your senority. I have senority to hold a regular job, i choose to work the extra board in the winter. i am on a gaurentee board if frieght slows down the guys with regular jobs lose money if they dont work which is always the case. mean while i still get my pay for being avalible. i can make more than a guy holding a regular job.
as far as hire more people the company will make the rank and file work overtime, this is done and is cheaper than hiring becouse they dont haft to pay benifits to the new guys which can be more than the overtime amounts paid to regular employees. insurance is a big cost to the company.
i get paid for 14 day halfs. and if i dont work but 3 days the company owes me 11 days pay. or in simple terms 1,727.00 to sit at home. plus the 3 days i worked. i can claim any job that is open and work it also i dont haft to draw a gaurentee. i hope this answers your question
“J”,
Got a good one for you. On NS, there’s a pay code called “VT” This code covers T&E employees who hired under the former Virginian Railway agreement. This agreement stayed active until about 1977, although the Virginian was merged into the N&W in December 1959. The code calls for any crew called from a former Virginian terminal and destined to a Virginian terminal, who is relieved on the line of road because of hours of service, will remain at the overtime rate until the relieving crew reaches the destination yard board. In the coal fields, there are planned hogs so that it can take the relieving crew nearly the additional 12 hours to get back. The first crew is home sleeping, watching tv or whatever at OT rate and the rest doesn’t begin until the ot is terminated. As of two years ago, there were still 17 people under that code. By the way, great explanation of the extra board and marking on and off. gdc
Sure wish I could get paid 1727 dollars to sit at home and read and respond to the Trains forum page!
I guess I really didn’t make myself terribly clear about the Extra Board. Anyone can work the extra board but the crews here would like some semblance of normalcy, and being here in the South, our traffic is rather steady. One good thing about the extra board is, if you get assigned on a Monday while someone for that job is on vacation, you can work that job for the entire week. Almost a normal life, even for only a week. Happy Holidays to all!!!
If you are working the extra board, when they call you in for work do you have to show up right away or do they at least give you time to pack a lunch?
Depending on the contract you are working under
a call usually is one and a half hours, two hours
two and a half hours or you can request, three
hour call, two hour call is probably the most
common, by the way, when I started in the industry
a guaranteed extra board was unheard of, if you
didnt work, you didnt get a pay check, I dont
think the carriers could get away with that this
day and time, they couldnt get employees to
work, union or non-union. jackflash
Two hours is the standard here.
**my thanks to all who contributed to the extra board discussion… i learned a lot about this aspect of r.r.
i attended a hiring session for ns… the gist was: e.b. is anytime, anyplace approx. 200 miles from the home point… 90 min. to report to the r.r., ready for work, period. not answering a call or turning it down, FIRED! no second chance and the worker is blacklisted to other r.rs.
i attended an orientation for a r.r. industrial tech. school at univ. n. florida, jacks… the 6-week course requires perfect attendance, or OUT! no excuses, and a 1-year wait to re-apply; the tuition is due up front (approx. $3700, plus switch lantern, steel-toed boots, etc.)… if i had it, i wouldn’t need to change jobs… graduation is on friday, and those who interview successfully report to work on mon.
being discouraged from working for a class 1 r.r., i then hoped to become a candidate for a “private” system (a terminal r.r., or a “plant” operation)… i believed a smaller outfit would require less aggressive scheduling of crews, less travel and a closer rapport with co-workers… unfortunately, the tanking economy and “friends helping friends” has closed off any chance to work that way… there are several large companies doing their own switching and there are several seaport terminals in my town… but the companies promote from within and the port auth. is not hiring…
even if i could relocate, who would hire an applicant who moved to a new place just to work at a job that paid less than $10/hr.? the only way i could get on a train is to buy a ticket…
if reincarnation is real, i would choose to be placed with a r.r. family… it’s easier working from the inside…
Ok Len that is just example. this last half i did make 942 sitting at home. the other days i worked. the gaurentee is there so guys stay married to the phone waiting. someone ask about the call time. if it is a yard job or a road switcher with set hours the company MUST give you a 1 1/2 hour call time (standard on our contract) plus drive time. if the job is covered by our extra board and its 100 miles away a 2 hr drive time plus the 1 1/2 call time.
So if the job is on duty at 5am. At 1:30am i get a call to work at 3:00am i go on the clock for hours of service law. i am in my car driving when i get there i stay on the clock. i get paid milage and time for the deadhead personal vehicle. i can only work til 3pm. i am obligated to do and work under what the bullitin of that job is. after the 12 hrs is up and if it was only a 1 day thing i go back to home terminal continouis time ( which is overtime by now) until i get home. if the job is more than 1 day i am put up in a motel paid by the company. they will let you know how long it should be.
now lets say the same thing but i dont want to drive they will transport me there in a cab i still get my pay started at 3am and stay on duty till 3pm. and here is where you can make more money. i order my cab at 3pm then wait 1 1/2 hours for the cab to show up then the 2 hrs back to home terminal all at overtime rate. i sleep while someone drives and get paid then i get 10hrs rest when i get home.
For the guy who says he is thinking of going to conductor school paying 3700 to do it. I can tell you the ns wont hire you. they want it done their way. The best thing i can tell you to do is find someone that you can make friends with that work for the railroad. do a little butt kissing get them coffee in the mornings where they are working make friends when there is a opening they can put your name in the hat. it is a foot in the door. and if accepted by the carrier the process goes lot faster then
NS will send you to its own school in Georgia. gdc
Hi train, I can second what j says about not wasting time at a school, most roads will want to teach you their way of doing things, and you can learn the basics in about three days. I know, lots of people will comment on that, but I can teach anybody to switch in a day or two, but teaching them to think about what they are doing takes about two or three years. Any way, what you have to do, if your lucky and have a friend who railroads, is have him talk to whoever hires for that road, and when they are interviewing, someone will call you.
How it worked for me was just like that, I was “kin” to this guy, he put in a good word for me with the guy doing the hiring, I get a call at 5:00 am to be at Union Station at 8:00am to fill out an application and interview.I go, am handed an application, along with 20 other people, while we are filling them out, the door to a side office opens, and a guy calls out someone name, in they go, out in five, and next name called. I dont even think the guy hireing even looked at my application, he asked me why I wanted to railroad, explained I wouldn’t have a family life, asked where I wanted to be in five years, and told me to go to another office to sign up for my physical. All in about 5 or 10 minutes. So if you dont have family working at a railroad, find someone and do just what j said, suck up a little, get your name in the hat, and keep trying.
Oh, and forget about steel toed boots, all that does is give you a steel cup to carry your toes home in, it wouldn’t make a bit of diffrence what kind of boot your wearing if you get you toes run over.
Ed