Obviously being furloughed is not a good thing. What happens if the person was not at fault behind the furlough for an accident?
Does he get compensation if he was not at fault?
Should a guy that is joining the railroad put some money away for a rainy day? I am about to go to school and I hope that I don’t ever fall in this category. But if I do it would be nice to have the knoweledge on how to prepare just in case.
You should always put money away for a rainy day no matter where you work!!!
Furloughed on the railroad happens when there is insufficient work available. Also known as being “cut off.” Most other industries/companies would call this laying people off. On the railroad, when you work an assignment/board that dosen’t have regular scheduled days off and need time off, you “lay off” or some places use “mark off.” When you become available again, you “mark up.”
What you are talking about is being suspended, or more commonly, “fired.” Depending on the offense it can be a few days to a few months. There are minimum penalties required by the government for certain things, but the railroad can have more severe penalties above the required ones. For something of a more permanent nature, the term would be dismissed or terminated. For long term discipline there is an appeals process, and if you were wrongfully fired or terminated, you can get back pay for the time you were off. That’s the basic simple version.
You can buy job insurance to protect your income. Some don’t, I think where I work most do. The plan I have would pay $150 per day. There are some restrictions, depending on the company/plan. The one that comes to mind is if you were fired for Rule G (drugs/alcohol) violations. I don’t think any will pay for that. You can also draw unemployment, which for us I heard in my home state is $55 per day.
It seems when something happens at first everyone on the crew is held responsible even when it’s obvious only one member is at fault. Depending on the local management, they may drop charges against those not at fault. An example is when the conductor/brakeman is riding a 20 car shove back into a track. The engineer has to rely on this person to look out for obstructions, switch
A few years ago the Carriers and the United Transportation Union negotiated a National Agreement wherein each trainman and switchman must work at least one compensated day in any 365-day period in order to retain his/her seniority. If the employee fails to meet this requirement, the carrier has the unilateral right to drop that employee from the seniority roster. Railroad unemployment cuts in according to a formula which embraces the following concepts. The qualifying year runs from July 1st through June 30th. The benefit year runs from the following January 1st through December 31st. If an employee makes a certain minimum amount of wages over something like three months during the qualifying year, he/she qualifies for railroad unemployment during the subsequent benefit year. I’m not sure, but I think railroad unemployment is something like $50/day, $250/week.
Thank you for the information. I will keep this in mind when I sign my contract and ask for Job Insurance. Also as stated before; “ALWAYS SAVE FOR A RAINY DAY EVERY DAY!”
As stated you are talking about two entirely different situations.
Furlough is when there isn’t enough work for you to keep working. You are told to stay home and collect RR unemployment - which is like 50 bucks a day. Luckily I’ve never been furloughed. Furloughs are a great way to increase your seniority. If the furlough is long, some people won’t come back. If they are older then you, you move up.
Serving a supension, (being fired) is a disciplinary action. You can purchase insurance to compensate you while out of service. Cost varies with compensation level. Be sure to read the fine print, most policies will not cover you for a Rule G (Drugs/Alcohol) violation, or insubordination. I’ve also never been fired.
Nick
Starting July 1,2007 Railroad Unemployment will be increased to $59 per day (5 day week), I believe it is now $57 per day. That’s the good news.
The bad news is there’s a 14 day waiting period starting the first day after last employment for each fiscal year. That means if became unemployed or got 30 days starting June17th you would not be able to collect any unemployment money until July 15th.
When I started the old heads advised: “Get can insurance with yor first check before you buy groceries”. That is still darn good advice.
Thank you for the information. I will keep this in mind when I sign my contract and ask for Job Insurance. Also as stated before; "ALWAYS SAVE FOR A RAINY DAY EVERY DAY
Just so you know, by the wording of your statement, you appear to think the railroad will sell you the job insurance. This is not the case, there are three or four insurance companies that specialize in this business. Brotherhoods’ Relief and Compensation Fun (www.brcf.org), CPA Insurance (www.cpainsurancecompany.com), and Locomotive Engineers and Conductors Mutual Protective Association (www.lecmpa.org). There are a couple of others I am not at all familiar with. When you get started, there will surely be someone in your terminal who will be glad to sell you a policy. I wouldn’t buy the UTU job insurance.
The availability of insurance depends on your craft. I work in MoW and I can’t get insurance. Believe me, if it was available to us most of us would have it. On the UP most of us (Probably 75%) are in the midst of a two month layoff. We’d REALLY like to have insurance. At least we can rest assured that the clowns who are responsible for us being out of work will get their multi-million dollar bonuses.[}:)]
When i was working in the 80s i thought if you worked one day out of 30 you could still get insurance. When I would get furloughed on the track gang i worked extra board on a bridge. So you might try to work extra on other jobs or crafts. Good luck!
Become qualified for as many things as you can to reduce your chances of being furloughed.
It’s all about senority, either you got it or you don’t.
clarkbar04 Thanks for that word of advice. I am also a true believer of making yourself marketable. Know the job of your subordinates and supervisors is the key to advancement no matter what job you do.
P.S. I am an Oregonian too. Graduated Roseburg High School 1984, Retired US Army 1 December 2006. I am now getting my self prepared for my schooling next month for a job within the local area.