What does anyone here think of Hunter Harrison? Great executive or just concerned with the bottom line or something in the middle? How was he when he was at the or near the top at Kansas City Southern?
What I think of Hillbilly Harrison cannot be posted on these message boards. It’s amazing how working for CN for even a little over a year has changed the way I think of him. I didn’t think he was the cold, heartless SOB that everyone says at first, until I started working at CN.
Hunter Harrison either you love him or hate him with no middle ground. The prvious poster said it, most of what one would have to say is not printable on this forum.
With that said, let’s objectivley look at what he has done espercially with CN. There is no doubt this is a man with a focus. He has made CN a top performer where it counts, with the board of directors and wall street. His five tenants of railroading are nothing new. One most control costs regardless of the type of industry or business. One must utilize their asstes to the fullest extent. With a new locomotive costing upwards of 2 million a copy, why would I as a CEO not want to wrangle as much out of it as possible. Another tenant is service. Railroading isn’t about railroading its about moving goods and providing a service. As I have heard Hunter say: “Do what you say and do it every time.” A fourth tenant of E Hunter’s is safety. This should be a no brainer. Again, what ever business or industry one is in safety must be a focus or you are not going to be in business. Lastly everything is done by people.
This is where Hunter gets some of his most negative press. In some ways he has set the railroading on its ear with the hourly agreements. These agreements have a ten hour basic day with overtime after the tenth hour. Most assignements work six days with one assigned off day. The extra boards generally have 1 and 2 off day rotation with one day off one week and two days off the second week. There are some places on the CN in the U.S. that work on a 11 and three rotation. The extra board all have a guarantee. On my part of the CN, we have 11 persoanl days (some have 18). There are also the entitled vacation weeks. So where is the rub. The rub is that the company feels with the off days, personal days and vacation time there is very little reason to mark off. In times past, railroad workers could just call up and say mark me off. O
From a customer perspective, it would be pretty hard to like the guy. Perhaps instead of CEO, his title should be Executive in Charge of Freight Prevention. Under his watch, CN has become the opposite of “easy to do business with.” If you’re willing to play by their 57 rules and are willing to pay their 257 different charges, well then, no problem.
One Question. I dont know the man, and infact this is the first time I have ever heard of him. But the question is. What railroad dont you have to a bide by there rules to ship with them and have so many charges. I think may before he came to the CN, maybe the rules were there but sometimes over looked. I don’t know. So I cant say. I have never worked for the CN or let alone customer service for any railroad. I have worked and an Engineer and a Conductor. I knew going in that I would be subject to work 7 days a week 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and on leap years 366. My family is not what you would call a railroad family, but I loved working for the railroad, and I want to get back into it.
Look back over the years on this forum and you will find what I think of it. It has single handily destroyed a once viable railway. In 37 years I have never seen such a demoralised workforce working in such a poisoned and deplorable work environment where they constantly fear for their safety. An environment where deferred maintenance, ignoring the most basic of human rights and safety of the employees, ignoring negotiated contracts, browbeating the employees, spying on the employees, constantly lying to the employees is the norm. An environment where the Canadian employees are sent home for using Canadian in the Canadian National Railways. The ‘New CN’ now has one of the most efficient ‘Rumour & Damage Control Teams’ going. Everyone but the employees and a few of the inquisitive ones are wearing blinders and rose coloured glasses and are blindly led to believe by Edots ‘Spin Doctors’ that the company is doing extraordinarily well but in fact is in a slow but steady meltdown. Another Enron in the making. The company is being bled dry, employees are dieing and being severely injured, the infrastructure is disintegrating so that the largest shareholding groups and individuals receive yet more of the undeserved plunder while the employees who are the ones that make it happen get less while being told to do more. This CEO has just about ‘WalMarted’ the CNR. We have Hunter Camps which are nothing more than Indoctrination Camps. We have mangers off the street who know absolutely nothing about the departments they head all the while constantly harassing and intimidating the ones that do. A spineless, sneaky bunch that crawl through the weeds to catch some employee breaking a new rule just invented that morning. I could go on but I’m now retired from this Circus in Hell with my dignity and hopefully my health intact so I have other things to concern myself with these days. Yet I may have retired from the railway but I’m not finished with the railway. If I have to, I’ll go to my grave still fighting to rid the CNR of thi
Clique:
I am glad you have retired. I havent heard much from you in awhile and your comments have always been opinionated and very interesting to read.
My opinion is based on being a shareholder (and a very satisified one) so I cannot really debate your points since I am not employed by the CN. However, I do remember how miserable I was in my previous job…and that much anger is not worth it.
hope things are going well for you in retirement.
ed
Has Hunter Harrison fired too many employees from the railroads taken over by the CN?
Has the firings spread the workforce too thin?
Have all the tracks been repaired?
Have all the bad rails been replaced?
Andrew
Do the CN employees now work on Christmas Day?
Andrew
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Yes.
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Indeed.
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Heck no.
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Nope.
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And yes, we work everyday of the year.
Clique of one , I’m also wishing you the best now that you pulled the pin !! Regardless of who you worked for , it’s an accomplishment to make it to the end of a railroad career , I wish you all the best !!
Randy Stahl
I too am glad Clique of One is retired…
Happy trails…
LC
Christmas, New Years, Easter, every stat holiday. CN employees are expected to work on all these days. Although locally in the Greater Vancouver Terminal they shut down for a few hours on xmas.
You’re glad?? I heard Harrison threw a big going away party for him… three days after he left.
Please corredct me if I am wrong, but railroad run 24 hours a day 7 days a week 365 day a year. You guys, like my self even though I dont work for CN but every new hire is told in the begining even in the interview that you are subject to work on call every day even holidays. You may not get the phone call once you move up the senority roster, but still you are subject to work holidays.
Right, but wrong at the same time. WC usually didnt run very much on Christmas. I believe he was refering to lines CN has taken over.
“You’re glad?? I heard Harrison threw a big going away party for him… three days after he left.”
Not only did he not invite me, he also kept my inscribed gold watch.
You are correct and I personally have no issue working over the holidays. I was merely answering that person’s question.
However the other local(Vancouver, BC area) railways, even the CPR shut down over the holidays. With the other railways closed for the holidays there is virtually no traffic moving even on our side, yard crews sit around most of the shift waiting for work and no eastbounds are getting out because we run eastbound on the CPR. If the CPR is shut down there are no RTC’s to dispatch trains.
So if crews are sitting around doing nothing why not let them spend the holidays at home?
I booked off sick one day in the last 6 months because I was not feeling well and was almost called in for an investigation. The only thing that saved me from speaking to the typewritter was a letter from my doctor. I’m never late for a shift, I don’t cause trouble, I do what I’m told, and would go out of the way to help out the company, and look how they showed their appreciation.
Yes that happens on my side of the CN also. As I have observed, with cases like yours, you were caught in the aftermath of the abusers. Somebody higher up in the food chain didn’t like the number of people off “sick” when they looked at the lay off report and demanded that all in “SO” status be set up for investigation or heads will roll! These knee jerk blunder busses don’t take the time to look at how many times those in SO status do so in a given period. A quick look at employee history would quickly solve the problem and identify the abusers. I know who the abusers are in my terminal and I would guess you do too. However, it does make it tough for those of us who are never late, work the holidays (Just like yesterday) and in general not whinner or complainer.
One of my bones of contention is having to work an assignment at say 0300 hrs. because the guy ahead of me is “not qualified” when I know darn well he is. He usually gets called about five hours later and then ties up ahead of me after 9 hrs. while I am out there 14 hrs. with a deadhead.
Saxman