UP is hiring

Bob Yarger · **Posted:** Thu Aug 28, 2003 7:02 pm

Should anyone be interested, UP is hiring conductors again. It can be a tough life, especially on the extra board, but many permanent jobs should open up within the next five years and one has the dignity of working under a union contract, as well as good wages.

http://www.uprr.com/employment/
ryarger@rypn.org

Dale Grice · **Posted:** Wed Sep 03, 2003 1:18 pm

So, what is "good wages"?

> Should anyone be interested, UP is hiring
> conductors again. It can be a tough life,
> especially on the extra board, but many
> permanent jobs should open up within the
> next five years and one has the dignity of
> working under a union contract, as well as
> good wages.

dgrice@motorola.com

Bob Yarger · **Posted:** Sat Sep 06, 2003 4:03 pm

The lowest pay for a yard trainman is just over $20 an hour. Road conductors make about $60K per year and up, engineers $80K and up. The extra board can be very tough, as one might work
every 8-10 hours for a month before getting a day off, then be furloughed for six months. Extra board men have to know how to do all the jobs they might be sent to, which can be tough.

Once one can hold a regular job, things smooth out better. It all depends on where one falls on the seniority roster. With the 60/30 law, however, there will be a large number of retirees within the next five years, and jobs will open up if you can stick it out. The lifestyle is not conducive to weekend preservation railroading, in fact you probably wouldn't have any regular weekends off or a day job for many years. Yard jobs can be brutal in bad weather, and road jobs can have their unpleasant moments also. There was an article in Trains magazine recently, written by a guy who tried it, gave it up and was glad.

Mechanical department jobs have regular hours and days off (though seldom weekends). They are hot and very dirty, but the lifestyle suits some better. Journeyman pay in most crafts is about $20 an hour, achieved in 2-5 years, depending on the railroad contract. Mechanical Department laborers (actually the best job physically), make about $16 an hour after a couple of years.

> So, what is "good wages"?

ryarger@rypn.org