Looming railroad strike

[pixy0stix]

Sept 15, 2022 18:26:49 GMT -5 SusanBAnthony said:

Even if you think I'm wrong about this, does anyone think I'm wrong about people being shut down with no discussion about 95% of topics?

We're literally having a discussion right now.

[seeyalater52]

Sept 15, 2022 18:24:15 GMT -5 SusanBAnthony said:

Sept 15, 2022 17:55:15 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Why are you assuming workers don't show up reliably?

I have shown up reliably to every job I have ever had, and have never been forced to comply with sadistic measures like having to take unpaid time off for sick leave.

Further, this is not the responsibility of the worker. This rests solely on the shoulders of the company to make sure they have contingency measures in place, such as hiring enough people with fair compensation practices, to keep and retain a workforce that can absorb people taking time off for illness, etc.

Because really, we just about saw the end result of "then this isn't the job for you" mentality, which is a total and complete meltdown of the system.

I also recognize that it's really hard to deprogram yourself from thinking that everything should rest on the shoulders of the workers. Companies have worked long and hard to condition our society to think this way.

I am not saying anyone isn't showing up reliably, I said I was interested to know the details of what the points system is. And that immediately goes to "it isn't reasonable no matter what". No discussion, just "it's always bad".

It's easy to say companies are responsible for having enough backup but there's a lot of grey area.

I feel like you’re purposely ignoring the details to justify your poorly thought out opinion though. Did you look at the details? Or just assume that whatever the details are they’re somehow fine in the end and the workers are just whiny and entitled? Are you reading any of the dozens of first hand accounts about what it is like to work in the environment created by this points system and pushed over the brink by the ongoing supply chain issues and worker illnesses and attrition of the workforce? Some have been posted here.

My friend’s husband has lost points on his record when he “called off” a shift that was changed with less than 24 hour notice while he was already scheduled to be on vacation in another state. He was not on call. It happens all the time, last minute changes and adjustments to the schedule that make it impossible to plan anything and then the penalties pile up for the worker which means they’re forced to work very long stretches without sufficient time off in order to be able to plan for other health and time off needs. We are talking changes of 2-3 or 6-7 hours to the schedule that happen nearly daily. Scheduled at noon? You’ll find out with 2 hours notice that you need to be there at 9am. Then switched to 3pm. Then 10pm and they need you right away so better hope you live close by. It is untenable. I’m stressed out by it and it isn’t even my family! And he’s a passenger engineer, not freight. Freight is way worse.

[seeyalater52]

Or let’s talk about doctor’s appointments. It is incredibly hard to have appointments rescheduled month after month due to the endless schedule changes at work. Even for a non urgent health issue it is swallowing cancelation fees from provider offices for canceling with less than 24/48 hour notice (or whatever their policy is) or missing 4 dental cleanings in a row because you spent all your points taking unpaid sick days when you were out with covid multiple times and rescheduling them means pushing it out by months for the next available appt that you may also need to cancel - and the points pile up extra fast for staff with less seniority who are often scheduled on holidays and weekends as a matter of course. Why should a worker who catches covid during Christmas spend 2x the points staying home compared to someone who had to miss a workday shift? I want to know your solution because the situation really sucks for people who have to live like this.

[bronxgirl]

Sept 15, 2022 18:26:49 GMT -5 SusanBAnthony said:

Even if you think I'm wrong about this, does anyone think I'm wrong about people being shut down with no discussion about 95% of topics?

Nope, not at all.  You weren't even shut down in this discussion. Patsy Baloney disagreed with you, she didn't prevent you from speaking. If anything, she did the opposite. She attempted to engage you in discussion. But instead of responding you had a meltdown. So here we are. 

[cherryvalance]

Sept 15, 2022 17:14:00 GMT -5 SusanBAnthony said:

Sept 15, 2022 8:36:37 GMT -5 Patsy Baloney said:

Nah, you should actually just be able to take time off when you need to.

What is even the point of this board. There is no discussion. Jesus Christ I know you all hate me but it's a little ridiculous.

It's easy to say that but welcome to the real world. Do you want your medication to arrive to a pharmacy on time? Do you want the grocery store to have the food you want?

These are shit ton of jobs that like it or not, actually need people to reliably show up for work. That's why the devil is in the details. If you get 25 pts a year and leaving early for a doctor appointment is 1 point and missing a whole day for a funeral is 2 I just do not see how that is unreasonable. If you need to miss more time than that unplanned and not including medical/FML than maybe this isn't the job for you. If that opinion is too much for you than I give up.

Honestly, I don't want my shit to get to me faster if it means people die, accidents happen, etc. I know that sounds sanctimonious, and it will seriously hurt some people more than it would me, but change won't happen until we stop saying, "Well, suck it up because we need XYZ."

Workers deserve more than they get in this country. If the pandemic hasn't taught us that NOW, literally right now, is the time to make a major shift towards workers holding more power, we are more fucked than I ever dreamed.

[Patsy Baloney]

I don’t even understand the meltdown here. It sounds like you’re wanting to put workers on a performance improvement plan for attendance as soon as they begin their jobs.

I don’t feel like what many posters have described in this thread as grueling, unworkable schedules are the result of attendance problems.

[lilac05]

If someone hasn’t read any of the details on the working conditions, I can see some of the argument of the point system not seeming so bad. I know some workplaces still have systems like that. I’m not saying I agree with them at all, but they exist.

But if you take 2 minutes to actually listen to/read some of the details, it’s pretty easy to see how absolutely unacceptable this is. We’re not talking about people who work normal hours where you have generally two full days off a week and can request time off ahead of time to go to an appointment, or switch with a co-worker, flex hours, etc.

I agree that it’s also time to discuss how much consumer demand drives poor working conditions for employees. Shipping times longer than 3-4 days seems like an eternity. People expect everything faster. And sure, they might pay $10 to have it there even faster, but that $10 doesn’t go very far! Companies make these decisions to keep their businesses more profitable. To be more profitable; they have to sell more. To sell more, they have to offer bigger, better, faster…and it’s just not sustainable.

[SusanBAnthony]

Sept 15, 2022 19:42:32 GMT -5 lilac05 said:

If someone hasn’t read any of the details on the working conditions, I can see some of the argument of the point system not seeming so bad. I know some workplaces still have systems like that. I’m not saying I agree with them at all, but they exist.

But if you take 2 minutes to actually listen to/read some of the details, it’s pretty easy to see how absolutely unacceptable this is. We’re not talking about people who work normal hours where you have generally two full days off a week and can request time off ahead of time to go to an appointment, or switch with a co-worker, flex hours, etc.

I agree that it’s also time to discuss how much consumer demand drives poor working conditions for employees. Shipping times longer than 3-4 days seems like an eternity. People expect everything faster. And sure, they might pay $10 to have it there even faster, but that $10 doesn’t go very far! Companies make these decisions to keep their businesses more profitable. To be more profitable; they have to sell more. To sell more, they have to offer bigger, better, faster…and it’s just not sustainable.

But that's what I said. I said I was curious to see the details of the system. I googled and read about 5 articles and none gave any details. I'd love it if someone shared an article with details.

[mysteriouswife]

:checks workload:

Hmm… I reliably showed up today. I bet you will not believe this. That medication that you are so worried about being late… yeah it’s going to be 21+ days late. The FDA wants a sample. The FEDERAL GOVERNMENT that gets PTO is holding it up. 🤷🏻‍♀️


No update on the rail that isn’t being published online. I’m just glad it’s being sorted. I hope the rail workers get what they deserve

[lilac05]

Sept 15, 2022 20:24:56 GMT -5 SusanBAnthony said:

Sept 15, 2022 19:42:32 GMT -5 lilac05 said:

If someone hasn’t read any of the details on the working conditions, I can see some of the argument of the point system not seeming so bad. I know some workplaces still have systems like that. I’m not saying I agree with them at all, but they exist.

But if you take 2 minutes to actually listen to/read some of the details, it’s pretty easy to see how absolutely unacceptable this is. We’re not talking about people who work normal hours where you have generally two full days off a week and can request time off ahead of time to go to an appointment, or switch with a co-worker, flex hours, etc.

I agree that it’s also time to discuss how much consumer demand drives poor working conditions for employees. Shipping times longer than 3-4 days seems like an eternity. People expect everything faster. And sure, they might pay $10 to have it there even faster, but that $10 doesn’t go very far! Companies make these decisions to keep their businesses more profitable. To be more profitable; they have to sell more. To sell more, they have to offer bigger, better, faster…and it’s just not sustainable.

But that's what I said. I said I was curious to see the details of the system. I googled and read about 5 articles and none gave any details. I'd love it if someone shared an article with details.

I’m not going to look it up for you…but it’s on more personal interest type stories, shared places here and FB and Instagram, too.