My Letter to the Railroad
Posted by Lou on Sep 25, 2009
It’s now a week ago that I was very frustrated with the work and furlough Situation that I decided to write a letter to Union Pacific Railroad. I did not expected an answer, just wanted to get something out that’s bordering me. Here is my Letter:
Hello,
Since 2006 I am with Union Pacific Railroad as a Conductor in the Roseville Hub. I love to work for UP – if I only get a chance. In my long Railroad Career (I worked for 17 years with the German Railroad) I’ve never expected a situation like this : several hundreds of Employees are furlough now. The Situation is very bad and the hope to get back to work get’s lower and lower.
There is no financial help or other support from UP for us. I am very glad to have the Health Insurance going on for 4 months.
Every day I am expecting and waiting to go back to work. You can imagine the situation we are in.
What does Union Pacific Railroad expect from me ? Do you want me to come back and be ready for work once there is enough work ?
The answer after the break.
After a few days I got the following Letter back:
My name is XXXXX (deleted by me for privacy reasons) and I work for UPRR Labor Relations.
I’m responding to your email concerning the current furlough situation.
As you have seen and read, it has been difficult to predict the economy, especially to the point where we can forecast the stabilization of the workforce. Our railroad is resourced (locomotive, cars, track,crews) to handle over 200,000 carloads a day and we are far below that number today.
Our number of recalled employees during the summer ranged from 900 to 1100 across the system due to a slight uptick in volume and increased summer vacations and maintenance of way work; today we are at 779. Our intent is to recall all of our furloughed employees when demand and attrition create enough job openings, and we welcome everyone who makes the decision to return. However, there will continue to be manpower adjustments at various locations depending on business levels and traffic flows. Unless we see a significant increase in the carloadings, existing employment levels will largely remain where they are.
Thank you for sharing your concerns.
First, I must thank UP for the fast answer. It’s not my first letter to them and I am really surprised to get answers always back – and very fast. The letter is no surprise and I pretty much expected the content. Nothing new, but nice to get some numbers. I must say that UP is top on that.
So everybody furlough, hold on and hope for better times. We will be back (someday, maybe, perhaps) and doing our job. Meanwhile, hang in there.
What do you think about that ? Comments are really welcome.
Lou
Well, it looks like a bunch of mumbo jumbo to me. He didn’t really say anything helpful, did he? Are you back at work yet? Nope! Are you going back soon?? Probably not. SOooo you are in no better condition than you were in the first place.. Hang in there?? By what, as the wife of a railroader, my fingernails are starting to bleed from “hanging in there”! Last year they said.. “Hang in there til 2009 when your seniority is better, then you will have more work than you can handle!” Well 2009 is nearly over and we are STILL waiting! I for one am mad, just just a little, but REALLY, REALLY MAD! I just wish there was someone else I could write to that would make a difference.