"rail industry is trying to do too much with too little"

[Lenny53]

https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/fertilizer-shippers-single-out-csx-transportation-service-problems/

[learmoia]

Well.. Shortage of train crews isn't necessarily a PSR problem at this point (it may be the root cause to end up in the position they are in)...

I suppose PSR took the methods of operating through a traffic surge and made that every day operation to run less trains... So now there is an actual traffic surge and they don't have the people to run 'MORE' trains..

Usually you have a pool of laid off employees you can call back to work, but I'm guessing they burned through that.. combined with the 9-5 job market being so hot.. people went else ware..

So I'd say the problem is finding people willing to work.. (And work for the railroad..)

~Ian

[sd45elect2000]

Can’t get anyone under the age of 70 to pass a drug test.

[learmoia]

..... Yes......   

[Englewood]

PSR is definitely the root cause of the problem. Cut the crew boards down to the bone, park all the locomotives, shut yards down, cut the number of times you go switch a customer, combine the crew callers with the customer service department, furlough anybody with less than 7-8 years of service, don't have power or crews available to run your regularly scheduled departures, then blame the workers for not working fast enough. And then when you try to call back furloughed workers and they don't return because they went and found other jobs that actually have them going to work so they can earn a living and support their families, don't act surprised. At least, that's my personal experience with PSR.

[Iain]

Can’t get anyone under the age of 70 to pass a drug test.

That statement is a load of horse dung.

[Missaberoad]

That statement is a load of horse dung.

I think it's called a joke... 

[CRL]

Hey, I just read on the internet that horse dung is the newest way the kids are getting high.   

[lock4244]

Run longer trains 

[peteski]

Hey, I just read on the internet that horse dung is the newest way the kids are getting high.   

But will a drug test detect that?   

[wazzou]

That statement is a load of horse dung.

You’re right, it’s not the same high you can get throwing things at cops or windows, right?

[sd45elect2000]

That statement is a load of horse dung.

Well, I am trying to hire for two positions at my railroad for covered service employees. I need two employees that can do locomotive work including testing cab signal and PTC on periodic maintenance and I cannot find anyone.

I had the same issue at my previous railroad where I was superintendent of locomotives. So the issue is real.

Sorry but I am a bit cynical about the potential employee pool out there now...

[packers#1]

Yeah, from working in manufacturing since the pandemic started, you couldn’t keep people in work even in a naturally distanced manufacturing environment, so I can only imagine train crews and their proximity. And now you really can’t hire anyone, and in my experience, the drug test isn’t even a problem…you just literally can’t hire anyone right now.

[sd45elect2000]

I am not pontificating on causes of employee shortages. I am telling the facts in my recent and past experience as a railroad manager.  You are correct that the potential employee pool is shallow to begin with but the drug test is a major issue at least where I am.

Doing any kind of railway safety inspections including but not limited to cab signal and PTC requires employees including myself to submit to random drug tests and pre-employment drug screens. Many applicants reject the job when they are told about the random drug tests.

This has been getting worse over the last few years. When I worked for the P&W in 2014, again as a department manager I was frustrated by this.

[MVW]

Maybe we should drop the drug tests.

https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/global-hr/pages/us-drug-testing-rules.aspx

"Let’s start with the fact that the United States is virtually alone in the developed world in permitting employment-at-will. What this means is that in most other countries, employers may terminate for cause only, or risk penalties and even lawsuits. Consider that in much of the rest of the developed world employment agreements are not only commonly used, they may even be desirable for employers. These two concepts alone can be a big surprise for employers who previously have not operated outside of U.S. borders."

snip

"Although our neighbor to the north, Canada, may appear to be very similar to the U.S., the Supreme Court of Canada recently held that the implementation of random alcohol testing for employees in safety-sensitive positions was an invasion of privacy and an invalid exercise of management rights. The Court held that without “evidence of enhanced safety risks, such as evidence of a general problem with substance abuse in the workplace,” such testing was an “unjustified affront to the dignity and privacy of employees,” and therefore impermissible.

"In other words, just because the workplace might be inherently dangerous due to the nature of the work (for example, manufacturing or construction), this fact alone does not justify random testing. While “reasonable suspicion” testing may be permissible under certain circumstances, employers should be sure to carefully document unsafe behavior and verifiable examples of drug or alcohol-related incidents.

"Drug and alcohol testing in Europe can also be tricky, where employees generally have greater privacy rights than in the U.S., and drug and alcohol testing may be seen as a violation of the employee’s basic right to privacy. Although employers and employees can generally set out the parameters of acceptable drug and alcohol testing through employment contracts, some countries, such as Belgium and Finland, prohibit the contracting away of basic privacy rights and may hold such contractual provisions to be invalid. In Poland and the Czech Republic, drug and alcohol testing is generally prohibited.

"Pre-employment screening is permissible in some countries (the United Kingdom), but is strictly limited in others. In France, for example, pre-employment drug-screening is generally prohibited unless an occupational physician recognizes and recommends such testing. In fact, drug and alcohol testing is strictly limited in most European countries, as well as many other countries around the world, including countries as diverse as Chile, Colombia and South Africa. Unjustified testing can result in fines, and even criminal sanctions in several European countries. "

Jim