BriTish

According to the man responsible for track workers, as of Friday the 2nd of October, that's today; the next class which consist of 20 people, is filled. There may be another class at the end of the month. I gave him my information, again, and asked him if I should be discouraged? He said no. I started a new job yesterday and I hate it. Another job is about to call me, with great benefits, but the commute is horrible. List #31x.

I resigned from my previous transit position in lieu of being fired for one of the most egregious infractions in the eyes if the MTA. That's falsification of official documents. I did my job, but I lied about what time I did it. My transit pass gave me away, as my swipes were, of course, recorded and didn't match my written documents. I resigned just for this job, as I knew I would be asked whether I was ever fired from this or any civil agency and I didn't want my answer to be "yes." A year or so later, when I attempted to recover my pension investments, I was denied because according to transit, I was still on their payroll with a status of 'suspended.' Since I still get literature in the mail from the TWU Local 100, I'm assuming my status is still the same. I've already made contact with a former union rep who redirected me to the main union hall and I'm currently awaiting a return call from them. I have not yet received that letter from transit, but I know what to expect nor do I wish to wait for it to arrive as the next class start date is almost upon us. I've already managed to set up two interviews with other companies since I talked to Moran at HR. But I could've been doing other things since their first contact with me in February. And these jobs I'm applying for are nothing as secure as that track worker gig and the pay is nothing I can send my kid to college with.

Thanks UPO1, but I wouldn't even know how to get past security without paperwork. Telling them that I want to speak to someone from HR sounds like something they would turn me away for. I might come across as some disgruntled person. I thought about just walking in tomorrow and pretending I don't know what's going on and say I'm there for the medical, but that can easily backfire. I'll go there tomorrow, and try to speak to someone about something. Don't know what my approach will be though. And yes, it does feel like a punch in the gut. If they are turning me down for my past record, they should have done that in February. I passed up my plan b and c. Now I'm really in a bad place.

I just got a return call from Charlie Moran from HR. I called him yesterday and inquired as to why I hadn't recieved a call yet. He told me to expect a letter in the mail. That's the worst news I could have gotten. It seems that my past transit record has kept me out of consideration. Good luck to the rest of you. I'll probably post one last time when I get the letter.

List #31× and still no phone call. I left a message on Charlie Moran's mailbox. That's all for now.

I guess this the part where I start to get nervous, as I haven't received any call yet. List #31X.

Let's talk medical. I recall someone talking about it in previous posts, but I would like more details. Do I have to remove any clothing, and is there physical contact with the physician? What sort of touching and checking will be going on? Will they use a stethoscope? Blood pressure check? That will determine how I dress that day also.

57 is a good number, but will it affect the usual 45 per training class quota? 45 is a good number for me being that my list number is 31* and the last hired was 272. 57 guarantees me a seat in the next class, barring my previous transit work record. I'll keep you all posted.

Same for me with the application. Figured since I filled it before, it would be redundant. Had to fill it out again. Ended up being the last incoming track worker processed for urine. No big deal, since when it came time to piss, I was ready. Now, just waiting for a call back for medical and interview.

Urines samples are picked up daily by Quest Diagnostics. They can take your sample as far as Philadelphia for testing. So nothing happens the same day as a using test. 3 days for results to come back, which is why you'll have to wait till at least the following week to continue the process.

Haven't been processed, but you won't see a doctor until you pass a urine test. That's at least three days from initial test. Only then will you see a doctor and pre-interview. So if I go in on Wednesday, I'll be waiting until next week to continue with medical and such.

To RCVW, if this is your first contact, which it seems to be, take that day off and go piss for them. Your next contact, which may be months from now, is when you should consider removing yourself from consideration. Being that I know you and what you do, I would strongly advise against removing yourself from consideration. This job seems perfect for you, schedule wise. You could pursue your love during the day while working nights. This is my advice to you without knowing any extra details besides what I already know about you. GQ. I know your list number, so don't expect to be called for the next class.

Finally got that letter today. Must report for pre interview and medical on the 16th. Right on schedule.

This is the process for all incoming transit workers, except for the ones that make the very first class from an eligible list. The first letter is for the first urinalysis. If you pass that, they'll call you back when they have your spot ready in a training class. That could be months down the road. My list number is 31*. I took my first urinalysis in February. The next time they "call" me, I'll have to take another, but I'll be in the upcoming class. This time, I won't be waiting months, but maybe a week. If you're waiting for your first contact, you won't be in a class until next year, maybe.

I'm really expecting a phone call. The people getting letters are really just beginning the process. I got my first letter in the beginning of February. From my previous experience, I expect the next contact to be by phone. And yes, I ended up cancelling my trip to the west coast, although right now, I wish I hadn't.

I may have spoken to Moran about three days before I posted. He called me back after I inquired some information. The impression he gave me is that they don't need anymore track workers for now, and if they did, the earliest he would summon me would be the end of the second week of September. That's generally bad news for me. His tone was such that I shouldn't get my hopes up for a September class. Now I plan to be on the west coast until they contact me, which I was hoping would be by phone, as per my prior experience. But I'm getting the impression, from reading previous posts, that the second contact may come via mail. Naturally, that complicates my trip, depending on the gap between the time I receive the letter and the time class starts. So, I really need to know how previous listers were contacted and how much time did they have to work with from said contact until class started.

This contradicts the information I got from one Mr Moran at transit hr. He is Mss Robinson's replacement and he tells me not to expect a call until at least mid September. If there is a class scheduled for mid August, possibly it's for people from a promotional list. I plan to go California next week to catch a movie premiere with an open ended airline ticket, hoping to come back when I get the call. My list number is (31*)

....the 1st or 2nd week of September.

What I've gathered so far for people still on the list. Training classes (45 trainees each) last 6 weeks. There seems to be a 2 month gap between the end of one class and the start of the next. 1st class was Feb 2; 2nd class was May 18th. I'm not good at math so the next class would start on or about...???

Get yourself an MCU account with direct deposit ASAP. Your payday will be at least one day earlier if not two. Plus there are many benefits available to Transit employees with MCU accounts.

Once you're hired, if you happen to get a ticket, it's none of Transit's business. The only time you have to report to Transit is if NYPD takes your fingerprints. When that happens, it means you've been placed under arrest. You must report to Transit of you've been arrested before they find out on their own. I got arrested three times while employed for Transit. Make that four times. On two occasions, I took a chance and didn't report an arrest. But I was arrested by the Feds, and I made the safe assumption that Transit didn't cross reference their records with the Feds. I was correct. My other unreported arrest came by way of the NYPD. I used to have a bad habit of smoking marijuana outside in public or in my car. I got caught, cops took me to the precinct, fingerprinted me, wrote me a summons and let me go. Three days later, I was suspended and sent to drug rehab for the next six months. They even had me upstate at some in-patient facility for the last month of my punishment. Although it wasn't like that when I first started working for Transit, some arrest will have you immediately suspended until your case is resolved. Domestic violence cases and drugs will get you suspended pretty much immediately, unless you happen to get popped for drugs and pass the subsequent piss test. That never happens.

By the way, track workers have to wear hard hats. The color of the hat will determine the title of the wearer.

Track workers don't wear uniforms. I don't expect you to hit the tracks the first week of training. I chose track work because I didn't want to wear a uniform nor did I ever want to wear my hair in any way but my way. Dress casual for orientation and early training. When you go out into the field, you may want to dress protectively; eg. Long denim pants and long sleeve shirt. As someone mentioned earlier, you may want to stay clean and be protected from the live electrical currents surrounding you. I certainly don't intend to get too dirty, so I'll pick maintenance if I get a chance. I'll pick capital after I have a couple of years in and/or when I reach top pay. As far as pay goes... You are scheduled to start class May 18th. That means you are a Transit employee and you are on their payroll. It is very likely that you will earn $20 an hour through training and for the first year. By the way, track workers have to wear hard hats. The color of the hat will determine the title of the wearer.

Bad news for me at #31*. But I'm a sure bet to make the next class, whenever that happens. Just gonna have to pee again probably. I have the 21 page booklet filled out already, so it's just a matter of patiently waiting. Now to figure out how many people made the class. The last list lasted 6 years, due to some hiring freeze. Since there wasn't a quitting, firing, or resigning freeze, they have two years of catching up to do. From reading these threads, I learned that the MTA must lawfully and contractually have a minimum number of track workers on payroll based on the mileage of track in use. And with the 7th Ave extension and the 2nd ave line coming soon, there will develop a need for more track workers. The 3600 test was easy and short compared to the last exam. 775 people scored perfectly out of 12000+ eligibles on the 3600 while only 49 people scored 100 out of 7000+ eligibles on the last list. My conclusion is that many more candidates than expected should be hired from this list. Good luck folks.

According to Ms Robinson, they are up to list #243 in medical and final processing as of yesterday. She sounded like I was annoying her, so I didn't inquire further as to how many more she needed to fill the next trackworker class. I also wanted to ask if they notified people who failed the urine test and how soon notification would come of such a failure. As a former employee, I recall it taking no more than three days for urine results to come back from lab. I don't expect people with urine test failures to report to this thread, although I respectfully wish they would. I smoked my last joint back in february of 2010, so no judgements here.