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Straight
Track #71
| I've Been Working On the Railroad
Alan J. Fisher
Hoey, Farina
Attorney
fisher@felahfd.com
There is a great nostalgia in America, and around the world, when it comes to railroads.
Being hired by a railroad brings you into a very unique sector of the workforce.
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Thanks in very large part to hard work of their unions, railroad employees are paid good money and receive good benefits.
At the same time, railroad employees work long, hard hours at difficult jobs - with equipment weighing thousands of pounds. With railroads operating with reduced crew sizes and with cut backs in track maintenance, etc., the jobs often become dangerous.
What can you do to still enjoy your job, but keep yourself safe?
It doesn't matter if you're a new hire or a seasoned veteran - educate yourself. I'm not talking about going back to school to get a degree. There's a much easier way. Go to your union meetings.
Find out what local, lodge or division you belong to and then regularly attend their meetings. Union meetings are generally held just once a month at regularly scheduled locations. They are a life source of information for you. Issues regarding the property on which you work, safety concerns, legislative matters, agreements and contracts are discussed. If you have any job grievances or complaints, this is the place to go for help.
Before they attend meetings, many railroaders, both new hires and seasoned veterans alike, are not aware that they are NOT covered under state workers' compensation laws when injured on the job. They don't know: how to protect their job after an injury, how to complete an injury report, their rights regarding medical care or the benefits of having supplemental disability insurance policies. These are things that every railroader needs to know. As Designated Legal Counsel, we're asked by union officials to speak at the meetings to help educate members regarding these important matters and the federal law governing railroad workers. So members will know when we will be speaking at their meetings, we list all up coming meetings we will be attending on our web-site.
What if you can't attend your meetings?
Railroaders have told us that they often can't attend their union meetings because they're working. We have two suggestions. One, visit our web-site (www.felahfd.com). There you will find not only basic information about the FELA and our firm, but more importantly, copies of every edition of our weekly email newsletter, Straight Track, which brings railroaders and their families current and important information concerning life on the rails. Also on our web-site, you will find information on our
free seminars (Advocacy Skills, Family Members and Net-Track), additional educational tools for railroaders.
Our second suggestion is along these same lines, visit your union's web-site. This, too, is a great source of information for members, keeping them updated on current events and minutes from past meetings. If your local, lodge or division doesn't have a web-site, again, our firm offers the Net-Track Seminar, a kind of "individual" seminar, to aid unions in setting up their own web-sites. Have your local, lodge or division officer contact
Bill McMahon, our webmaster, for more information concerning this.
The important thing is to never stop learning about your job, your union and your rights under the law. Combining your work experience with a continuing education will give you a tremendous advantage with the railroad.
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