Stephen

3 hours ago, Rj617 said:

Appreciate the info.  I've noticed that it's hard to get a definite answer in transit. The previous information I received was from a MS2, and alot of information has been wrong. Thx for the clarification 

No problem man, that's just track, 100 different speculations daily, most with zero basis to go on. Picks average 2 years, and until you see a pick book in your quarters, or see it posted by the union it most likely isn't happening. Give it a few months as I mentioned above you should start seeing bid sheets appear, but even with that, there's a new lady running picks and bids so who knows if that structure, and frequency will remain the same. The finalized pick book itself was a mess, allot of misspellings, dudes with female names, wrong seniority numbers etc.

2018 pick there were allot of jobs that never went out to bid that should of, full rate spots, etc. Rumor has it that's part of the reason why Ms Washington who used to run picks and bids retired along with a few of her co-workers, another reason why the pick took as long as it did on top of COVID.  Everything was a mess, and the new lady who's running it now basically had to learn and start it all from scratch. This is information I heard directly from a guy in the union, safe to say it's probably 95% accurate.

Happy Holidays !

8 minutes ago, dman1455 said:

I need that fleet bid to come out already 👀👀

From just looking at the pick book there will be 6 Full Rate Spec Chauffeur spots out to bid that weren't picked. Two things could happen they could be posted as full rate bids, or dual rate bids depending on how they budget it. More than likely it will stay as full rate bids, so the people who picked dual rate spots will move up. If that happens you'd have to wait for the second round of bids for those dual rate spots to be posted as bids which are 3 of them.

On 12/20/2021 at 6:12 PM, Rj617 said:

They said if a position is available,  we are eligible to pick. It does go by seniority so it isnt as easy as it sounds. I However there was already a mini pick that just passed and we don't expect to pick until the next big pick which is around September. I would expect to stay in your current position out of OJT until the next big pick. 

We just changed over as of Sunday 12/19, whoever told you anything about a pick in September is false.

@ Everyone with X jobs

Two things could happen, your X jobs might or may not go out to bid it all depends. If they go out to bid they'll be posted as OPEN bids which means anyone from the most senior guy in track to the most junior can bid on that job. If a senior guy bids into it, it's usually a location preference or tour that wasn't available at the pick. If the X jobs don't go out to bid you'll keep them unless you decide to bid into something else, or until the next pick comes.

Regular jobs that go out to bid you'll see the seniority number of the person who had that job, or it will be listed as OPEN if it wasn't filled at the pick. For instance if there is a Dual Rate Welder Burner spot out to bid, and the person who held that job was seniority number 1555, the only people who can bid on that job are persons with seniority number 1556 or lower, anyone from 1554 and above cannot bid on that job, so just make sure when the bid results come out pay attention, sometimes picks and bids messes up, and a person above the listed number gets it. I've seen it happen a few times, and if it's noticed that bid for that job will be rescinded, and the person with the highest seniority closest to 1555 will win that bid.

Bid sheets aren't out yet, and probably won't be for a few months, there are still allot of people getting trained for the jobs that they picked in August, and the class sizes are very small. Once all of the training is done, you'll most likely see the bid sheets come out.

Remember two things with the bid sheets

If the job is listed as OPEN, anyone can bid into it

If the job listed was a previously picked job that went out to bid, only the persons with a seniority number lower than the posted number can bid on it, anyone senior to the listed number on the bid sheet cannot bid into it.

Also to those with X jobs, if you like your spot you can bid back into it and keep it so don't over think anything, same goes for if you hate it, you have the option of getting out.

When my class came into track I bid out to a Dual Rate Spec Operator spot, a few months after i came in, and allot of guys in my class kept their X jobs for 2 years until we had to pick.

As far as picks are concerned, the foreman pick every year as it's in their contract, as for us, a pick is generally every 1.5-2 years, but with COVID, and other things that went on, the 2018 pick lasted more than 3 years.

So pretty much we won't be picking again until 2023 the earliest, but you'll see bid sheets come out during this pick, people retire, people become foreman, people promote to different titles, and those jobs go out to bid. The first bid sheet that comes out are mostly the jobs that weren't filled at the pick, so mostly all of those will be OPEN, for the exception of a few that might have been promoted or retired before the changeover, in those cases you'll see the seniority number of those who picked those jobs. Some of you new guys might get lucky and land one of those spots. Bid on anything you can, you never know what could happen.

2 hours ago, premoCASINO718 said:

Wow, this is actually music to my ears. I picked a D/R wet saw at capital nights only because my seniority was pretty low. I guess I did the right thing. Good info by the way

PM'd you back.

On 10/23/2021 at 9:40 PM, bimmer4me said:

Does anyone remember discussing the top pay for this position? I looked back to the previous exam and it seems like it started at 20 and caped out at 29 per hour? Not sure where this leaves this title now and I believe the notice said 22 was the starting rate.

Currently I am in a seasonal role , My starting rate is similar and being that I have done a few seasons at this point its only a matter of time until full-time comes my way.

The title I am in pays about the same with other perks starting but I wanted to know about long term top pay with this title.

Top pay currently is $35.38 for a regular Trackworker, which will increase to $36.36 on 5/16/2022 which is the final increase in this contract.

Trackworker ( Specialist ) which are specialty titles in Track such as Welders, Truck Drivers, Heavy Equipment Operators, Crane Operators, Track Inspectors, Clippers, Panel Prep, Wet Saw Operators etc.

Top pay currently for Specialists, Full Rate and Dual Rate is $38.75 which will increase to $39.81 on 5/16/2022 which is the final increase in this contract.

I was in CN ( Capital Nights ) since I started, and picked out over to Crane Operator ( as of this upcoming Sunday 12/19 ). If you're looking to jump to top pay fairly quick as a Dual Rate, Wet Saw is the way to go. Dual Rate Specialist Operator, you're basically on a waiting line for a full rate spot, same goes for Welders. Capital Days is a little different, I know the Dual Rates ( Clippers, Panel Prep, and Welder Burners ) get the rate fairly often as their working in their titles.

I was a Full Rate Specialist Operator in CN, while you do operate ( Skid Loaders ) if there's a switch replacement job, which could either be a Brokk or Dig Out, or unless you have tangent or curved track that is really deteriorated, most of the jobs are Ekki Hilti, which is the bread and butter of Wet Saw Operators. But as a full rate you get the rate regardless if you operate or not. The Wet Saw Dual Rates are cutting 98% of the time, and allot of 1st, and 2nd yr guys when I started broke 100k easy.

Wet Saw you don't need a CDL to pick it, so good luck waiting for a Full Rate spot, as most of the Full Rate Wet Saw Operators have 10 or better.  I'm in the 6-7 year range, and a guy from a class in front of me got the last Full Rate Wet Saw spot. You might have better luck becoming a Full Rate Specialist Operator quicker than you would Wet Saw. But as I mentioned Dual Rates in Wet Saw are pretty much Full Rates, since they're cutting nightly.

If you're wondering about Welders in Capital Nights or Days, allot of them have been Dual Rates most of their career, and most that I know of didn't get Full Rate spots till they hit 15+ years.

I'm sure there's someone else here who can chime in on how maintenance is, and how often their dual rates are out there working in title and getting their rates.

But you got the basic run down on how Capital works pay wise if you're interested in picking it.

Remember

Full Rate - Paid the Specialist rate all of the time regardless if you're doing your specific title or not.

Dual Rate - Paid the Specialist rate only when you're working in title for the amount of hours you're working in it.

11 hours ago, XcelsiorBoii4888 said:

Looking at the public comments on social media / news, everyone was questioning where is the open gangway, lol.

The open gangways " while cool " will never happen, especially at the level crime is in the subway, it would be a disaster waiting to happen. If a serious violent crime were to occur, could you imagine the stampeding going on besides the perpetrator having access to every car while in motion, with no obstructions to isolate the incident?  Also from more of an everyday standpoint, would you rather have one bum stinking up a train car ? Or all 8-10 at once ? Trust me some of them smell so bad that one could probably stink out a whole open gangway train, now add to the homeless crisis during winter months anywhere from 1-20 homeless during the morning rush on a train spread out through the train.

7 hours ago, Zoey said:

Utano never mentioned layoffs, just that there may be some sacrifices. He only said this to make members aware of the dire situation. No layoffs. Terminations, resignations, and retirements with T/W will continue as it has been since 2018 with no new hires. Next year, headcount will start to hit the 1800-1700's if my prediction is right, and hiring will restart as it did with 3600. You just don't know how many guys are leaving or are planning on leaving. It takes a long time but patience. With COVID, this exam will just be extended so I wouldn't sweat it. 

There are allot of eligible Trackworkers who can retire now, and in the next year or two allot more. There are allot of guys trying to retire now that can't because NYCERS is backed up. Guys that might have stayed to pad their pension a little more, now want to leave because they don't want to get sick. The pick currently is exactly 2 years, I wouldn't be surprised if it lasts another year, or year and a half.

There was a 2020 seniority list draft out last February before the pandemic hit, and guys shot up hundreds of numbers across all seniority levels. To give you an idea the bottom seniority number (last man)  on the draft was 1900, his original number from 2018 was 2330, so he shot up 430 numbers. That was in February. In Track seniority is always flowing, guys retiring, moving to other departments etc.

They were trying to have the pick right before COVID happened, and it was delayed before that due to grievances. I can only imagine the grievances that will be going on now with everything going on. So I'm not expecting a pick anytime soon, even asked Carlos Albert, he's heard nothing either.

They'll most likely extend everything as they did with the hiring freeze after the 2008 crash, people were getting called 8-9 years after the fact.

Alex

I don't know if you took exam 9624, or 8611link is below if you're interested.

Exam 9624 

Exam 8611

As far as who we work along side with, signal, power distribution, structure would be the top 3. In the structure departments could be either masons, carpenters, lighting, or  plumbers. I haven't heard anything in regards to your question, but as I mentioned above the TA is hiring folks, maybe not in the masses it was pre COVID, but they are hiring nonetheless. Good luck to you.

3 hours ago, ace123 said:

there will be layoffs or furloughs and it will likely affect track/MOW if and only if they cut an entire line of service and there are no trains moving on the given  tracks.  If that happens they will furlough or layoff trackworkers...so thats the sign. As far as warning, MOW is horrible about givening notice about anything... there are plentity of times where i had qualification appointments given to me with one day notice. They dont care and they are incompetant about it. 

Stop fearmongering, it's all political tactics, go look in the T/O and Conductor threads, they have classes going to start as we speak. Until you hear from Carlos Albert, or Utano that we're getting laid off, stop assuming, and listening to the news networks.

If it were to happen provisional appointments would be the first to go, ( in any department ) and more than likely they would try and force people out who are already past the retirement plateau e.g. lifers. Now if I wanted to fearmonger, I would say if you have 2 years or less I'd worry. But don't until  the union tells you otherwise.

They have to maintain the FRA mandate of 2200-2500 Trackworkers on the job. Now could they do a hiring freeze ? Quite possibly, but again 180 Livingston is open, and they are processing folks in other titles. So do the math.

Remember the " so called layoffs " would happen across all MTA agencies as a whole, MNRR, LIRR, NYCTA, SIRR, MTBTA etc. There's allot of white collar fat that would get trimmed as well.

1 hour ago, Chris127 said:

This is not accurate i personally spoke to management and general superintendents and they both said that pat Foye is speaking this way because transit is asking for it’s second bail out and by getting this is one by saying there won’t be enough workers to move the city that is all politics

Thank You.

On 6/14/2018 at 2:58 PM, Nikki0927 said:

So i went from being on an outstanding certification list to now not being on a outstanding certification list has this happened to anyone else or can anyone give me any info about what exactly this means? 

Outstanding certification means NYCTA has your info from DCAS, and is gearing up to process another class. Not on an outstanding certification means your info was sent back to DCAS, which basically means they don't have any classes scheduled at the moment. I know the list expires in December, not sure if it will be extended either.

2 hours ago, mediccjh said:

Day 3-8, I don't know what you do besides post

Day 3-8 is where you go to post, you'll get that information in Track School. You could be sent to one of a few places.

East New York Yard

East 180th St Yard

38th St Yard

Queensboro Plaza

From these locations you'll be sent out with a maintenance gang, either on the structure or open cut. You could also be flagging in one of the yards. Here is where you'll go out with the flagger in the gang, set up flags, full and adjacent, in the proper sequence, distances, etc. Once all the flags are set up you place the red, and then the gang can go to work. You'll use either a whistle, or air horn to notify the gang working of a train coming, where they'll have to clear up, or you'll have to hold the train until they get the track safe for the train to proceed. They'll signal you to either hold the train, or let it proceed. Their life is in your hands remember that. You'll have paperwork that the MS1 will have to fill out everyday you post, which you'll have to bring in on day 9, which is your final.

If any of you guys should get Queensboro Plaza you'll either be flagging on the N or the 7 line. I was mostly on the 7 line except for one day. You'll get plenty of practice on the 7 line, it's CBTC, and the trains come every 2 minutes. You'll definitely have to hold a few trains for the gang to get any work done. But again it's good practice.

13 hours ago, +Young+ said:

For those of us that want to get a head start, do you think it's a good idea for us to be familiar with the Flagging Rules contained within Chapter 3 of this download, or should we just wait for the Flagging class?

Thanks in advance for your input...

Just wait for the flagging class. That rule book posted is outdated, the latest one is the June 2016 edition. The flagging book also was updated as of January 2016. Without going into too much detail, no one here will have a problem in flagging school. Everyone that's going into school will have no problems passing the course. Test is multiple choice, and very straightforward as long as you pay attention. You guys will also get track safety certified before you go to flagging school. When I finished training, I had a 3 week wait before my flagging instruction began. Having the track safety card allows you to enter, and work on the roadbed, you just can't flag, or setup lights.

18 hours ago, moussaberte said:

How is the class how hard is the test? Can you be kicked out if you fail?

Flagging in general isn't hard at all. If you passed the Trackworker exam, this is just another common sense test. Passing is 100%, you must get the questions all correct on the written exam. You'll see when you get to flagging school, the instructors go over everything enough as to where you should get 100% without even second thinking a question.

2 minutes ago, Aahhhwoooooo said:

I'm in the Nov. 27th class. We're doing a double shift tomorrow from 7am - 11pm for fire & evac training and vac? training....I'm hoping to be go to a gang on the L or J/M lines.   Do any of you seasoned gerryswingers have any recommendations on whether I should avoid these gangs for any reason?

I'll give some of you guys a heads up, I'm not in maintenance never was, I'm in CN. One place that allot of people know of in maintenance to avoid is Utica Ave on the A line in Brooklyn. I don't know the specifics, but people who go there bid out as fast as they can. Every bid sheet that came out this past year there was 6+ spots open at this quarters. Seems to be the norm.

4 minutes ago, dp142 said:

That was a sad time.

Goes to show what can happen when departments don't work together (meaning RTO & MOW) and managers (Supt's and higher) won't spend the money that could help everyone involved become safer and more productive. 

Its dangerous over there regardless, it's a very long curve area, station included, with everything being open columns. Even with full flagging on 1 track adjacents on 2, you still have trains flying by on 3, and roaring into the station on 4. You have to keep your head on a swivel over there. I'm starting my 3rd year in March, and everything is still micro managed. You have good supervision, but also very incompetent. The good Level 1's and 2's allot of them are on their way out in the next 1-3 years in CN.

Great example of a flawed system. The 3rd rail Foreman who blew up a Slotter on a live 3rd rail at 96th on the 1 line last year, and almost blew up 100 guys in the process still has his job and still is a Level 1 at Hoyt St in the office. We literally were waiting for power off and secure, and about to go down when it happened. I still don't know how he didn't kill himself. Luck is an understatement.

27 minutes ago, dp142 said:

That's the truth!

I came in with Boggs.

They we worked in the 90's was unreal compared to now. 

We just finished a 600ft Brokk job at 59th on the 1 line on 4 track 2 weeks ago. Allot of us got to see the Boggs memorial plaque on 2 track just outside of the north end of the station.

7 minutes ago, dp142 said:

Back in '98 when we worked live and everything was stripped out in advance Tommy Destafano fell onto the 3rd Rail.

He was electrocuted and died. 

First thing Transit did was check his Boots (the ones on his feet at the time) and have his locker opened to see if his second pair was there. When they could not find them and realized he was on his 2nd pair they still fought the law suit. 

It took over 10 years to settle. 

I've heard that story a few times in CN from guys with over 20 years in Track. I know they're still dragging the Boggs lawsuit out. That's usually what happens when you have 100 lawyers versus 1. It's sad that they treat employees that way, but a customer can be drunk, crack his head open and get 600k in no time for it.

12 minutes ago, Xkramz said:

The only thing that's bringing me pain is the met guard hitting the top of my feet and bruising it. I tried  loose, tight, my other pair felt better which brings me to believe there's some quality issues between  every single shoe  or an isolated issue with my both pairs. 

 

With thst said  hopefully when the met guard ease up it'll bring me comfort. In the meantime I would have to deal with it cause I can't miss the training and stuff 

You're not the only one, I know people who've broken them in, used inserts, and anything possible to make the boots bearable, and still they have issues. The boots suck period. Especially in Capital on Dig Outs, and Ekki Hilti overtime jobs, or if you're a Wetsaw Operator, it doesn't take much for them to fall apart. Even with the Slotter my fav tool, the splash from the sparks will slowly degrade the leather even with a good stance. I went through 3 pairs in a year of hard use. I'm on my 4th now and so far I've been lucky. The last pair the stitching completely stripped of the side of my right boot. In normal walking conditions a pair will last a year, heavy use no way. Even Timberland Pros 10 years ago, were a hell of allot better in quality than the ones out today.

EDIT: Also you'll see guys with boots beaten to death with almost no soles or heels left. Don't get hurt in those if you want any sort of compensation. You'll be told your boots should have been taken out of service. They look for any avenue they can not to pay you.

17 hours ago, Xkramz said:

Good thing I went with two 6 inch then lol my dorsum ( top of my foot around the arch  ) are swollen and red already.    All because of thst metal thing inside the tongue 

Everything in those boots the toe and metatarsal guard are of composite material. The only part of those boots that has any metal are the shoe lace eyes. The met guard will eventually break in. I'm not guaranteeing your feet still won't hurt. Personally the Leheighs don't bother me, but I've also been wearing work boots in general for close to 20 years. I kind of wish the TA boots had the external met guard, it gives you far more protection while being easier on your feet. But supposedly those came to an end, when someone got the guard caught on a bench wall ladder rung and hurt themselves.

Supposedly, and according to the contract in January 2018 there will be a website where there are name brand boots you can purchase that fall under the TA specs for safety shoes. I'll believe it when it happens, but with the name brand boots you only get a certain amount reimbursed. I also not certain if Leheigh is still going to be the main supplier of safety boots, since their contract with the TA expired in October.

Fleet is part of Track dept, being able to pick it out of school is unlikely. Bidding into it you might get lucky. I have an A license too, but someone with an A permit with more seniority can still pick you out, or win the bid.

51 minutes ago, J2wresnwood said:

😳. Is there anything that I can read or study be my class starts to get a head start ? My class starts next month 

Nope, any reading materials you get will be in school. There's allot to take in, but give it a year or so it'll be second nature to you. You'll be fine as long as your head is in the game. The most important things you have to do your first year is, come to work everyday, be on time, don't use any sick time. If you have AVA's , OTO, or PLD that's okay to use. You'll learn about those during orientation. Your probation can be extended if you miss days that don't fall under those categories.

Also to everyone, if you should happen to get your girl of wife pregnant during probation, you will get maternity/paternity leave for 2 weeks. 2 weeks starts from when the baby is born, but it will extend your probation by 2 weeks. It happened to 3 guys I know that were in the class before me.

Rundown

OTO = Overtime that can be banked for days off 8 hours at a time. 72 hours is the cap or 9 days total. The 9 days cap it at the discretion of the dept you work in. In CN Capital Nights, they are enforcing it. You can either use it or cash it in at the end of the year.

AVA = Are holidays you pick up such as Memorial Day, Veterans Day, 4th of July etc. You can bank up to 20 of those and they carry over.

PLD = Personal leave day and you get one of those a year.

Basically avoid using any sick time, being late, or anything other that's detrimental to you passing probation.

Just now, J2wresnwood said:

What’s 2 Broadway ?

180 Livingston hires you, 2 Broadway fires you.

4 hours ago, mediccjh said:

Another piece of advice:

PAY ATTENTION IN THE FLAGGING CLASSES!!!!!

 

If your flags are set up improperly, YOU CAN DIE.

 

 

Indeed, it's also the easiest way to end up at 2 Broadway, and for some that's worse than death.

I say this as well, because I've mentioned incompetent supervision. Make sure you know how to set up your lights, especially in switch areas, and if you're working in an area with bi-directional traffic ( single tracking ). Straight track and adjacent setups are pretty straight forward. Again some of these foreman either don't know or like to take chances. So know your lights.

Also if and when you guys set up G.O. limits to take a track out of service for nightly or weekend work, make sure the paperwork matches the home signal / reverse home signal, and or marker lights. You don't want to be the guy that takes the wrong track out of service.

1 minute ago, +Young+ said:

From what I read and also from what I heard at the Linden Yard tour on November 4th, even if you have your CDL (like me), you're still sent to school to learn how to drive the vehicles their way...the only advantage is that you don't have to take the road test (thank goodness!).

Yea they put you through a week of their driving training, and you get a qualification card. But the downside ( my opinion ) is everything is automatic transmission, and if you're like me, and know how to drive a Eaton 9, a 13, and a 18 speed transmission like myself, you'll feel lost without a clutch and shifter pole. Some might disagree, but if you can't drive stick, you shouldn't be in a truck. That's what will probably keep me away from Fleet, I prefer a manual transmission truck. If anything I'll pick into a Crane Operator job down the line.