SubwayGuy

@VinnySea, thanks for the detailed response.  I appreciate it, I follow your logic.  I'm just hoping to get started soon.

 

@Ken, congrats on getting your start date.  So it looks like they're booking school car 1-2 months out...

 

General question since people are discussing parking - I get it that there are lots of pay lots in downtown Brooklyn and difficult street parking where the school is in Brooklyn (Midwood?).  When people get assigned work in the yards, do most drive or take the train?  Is parking difficult at most train yards?

Depends on the facility. Let your instructors know you plan to drive and they will go over the parking situation at each location with you the day before you are to report there. They are really helpful people who will give you tips on areas to look for parking, as well as directions to the facility which can vary significantly from directions to the nearest train station for at least a few locations. If there are places where parking is ill advised, they will also tell you as much and recommend you take the train.

Where you report will be determined by the schedule (which the instructors can change), also, you may not always end where you start. Your instructors should always make those things clear to you so that if you drive, you don't wind up clearing somewhere different than where you parked your car.

Of course.

First week won't be a lot of job specific things - mostly required trainings you must go through as part of your induction. ADA, National Security, Escape Mask, etc. You should do track safety by the end of the week (whether you walk the tracks or not), as well as substance abuse / fatigue awareness. You'll also get your tools by the end of the week.

Next week you'll get into more job specifics after you break down into your smaller classes.

To the vets of the company, already learning a valuable lesson on who to distance myself from in school just from orientation. Alot of sleepers.......literally sleeping during some important stuff. If you can't stay awake during a discussion about what to do & not do, how are you gonna stay awake in class? But making some good acquaintances. Guys who have a passion like I do. Hoping they dont split us up.

Yes. You will also want to distance yourselves from the bottom dwellers. More than just the sleepers (the first week can be difficult but knowing benefits is how to get ahead...you'd be surprised how many people retiring in the next few years don't understand how their pensions work!) Sleeping won't fly once you break up into smaller groups. But worse than sleepers are the are the people who never ask questions, never want to do any work, demonstrate no interest in anything but a paycheck for as little work as possible, and have a lazy attitude every time they are asked anything, or told they have to learn something (or just joke around ALL the time). If you do the bare minimum, schoolcar will be "hard." Schoolcar is not hard. It used to be a lot harder years ago and has been simplified quite a bit (especially on troubleshooting breakdowns). You shouldn't be aiming to skate along with the lowest passing scores but to learn everything you can. Every bit of knowledge you get down here, even about titles other than your own, can enhance your understanding of the job and put you in a place to better protect your job and (sometimes) the jobs of other people around you. Always look out for yourself first - but some of us still believe in looking out for the other guy, and a lot of people don't realize that even if he gets in trouble, you might get grilled too. So in a way you are protecting yourself too.

The people with bad attitudes put a huge target on themselves early on. Schoolcar doesn't "want" anybody to fail, but if these people should end up on the ropes at some point in their probation, rest assured schoolcar is not going to go to bat for them. Likewise, supervision among the various lines talks A LOT more than people think, and they know who their employees are - even the extra extra people. They WILL get a "book" on everyone a lot sooner than most think. The bad reputation employees will be monitored constantly. The good reputation employees will be checked for familiarization in the beginning, and then once they've shown they're OK on their own, more or less left alone and told they can always ask a question if need be.

What Andrew is saying is good advice. There is nothing wrong with getting to schoolcar early. If you and a couple others do it, you can use the time when you are at your most alert (starting the day) to review signal aspects and indications together. It's one of the best ways to learn them until you pass (and you'd better pass!) the signal exam. You can also use this time to compare notes on various things, generally study, or ask questions of each other. In every class, certain people are stronger on certain things than others, so it makes sense to work together and address each individual's weak points rather than run from them. I remember when I broke in on the motors that certain signals had a person identified with them becasue they had such issues with writing that signal out. The teasing was in good fun, but they learned they had to master that signal because of it, and eventually did. Hell, when we had light trains and practiced station stops, a few people wound up with stations named for them too after overruns during practice....once they went on their own, they never overran that station. You're a team, it's not a competition, the goal is to make everyone a SKILLED Train Operator (not a "stop and go" T/O). If you guys are unsure of something, ask the instructor (don't always go by what a classmate is telling you as it may be only partly correct), but study together. And crack the books at home. A lot of people clock out at their clearing time. When the instructor tells you to read something for homework, do it. Most days you're going to have a long ride home. It's easier to learn something the second time you've seen it than if you're seeing it for the first time in class.

"Stop and go" T/Os can hit the proper marker at station stops. Can run their regular route. Can avoid hitting a signal. Can follow proper procedure as it relates to road operations. Sounds good, right? They get lost or confused if they are taken off their regular route. They don't know where switches and signals are, so if they are rerouted, they are either winging it or asking for a step by step tutorial. If they are going back to their original route, they may not know exactly where this will happen (this is how most wrong lineups happen). They are scared of the yard as this mythical place where derailments and split switches happen. Put ins and layups are a bit scary, and drilling in the yard making cuts and adds is terrifying. They can't handle troubleshooting. A door problem is too much, don't even worry about a brake pipe rupture, or trouble with a put in. Those, in their opinion, are jobs for the TSS or RCI. And we work with people like that every day. A skilled T/O or M/M can handle all of the above. That's what you want to be.

Last: When it comes to signals, stick to what the rule book says. Some classes will get the "flash cards" but if you want to be 100% sure of something you write being correct, or at least that it can be challenged, work off the rule book.

A word to the wise on benefits - since all of you new guys are Tier 6, if you can swing it, enroll in the 457 plan. Your pensionable amounts are quite limited in comparison to previous tiers, and you will want the supplemental income when you reach retirement. Just contribute a small amount and try to increase it every so often as you go, and you won't feel it that much. It hurts a lot less than you think.

Also a quick word on money - when you are new, you won't be making very much during schoolcar. Depending on the job you left you may be thrilled with what you're making, or you might be a little disappointed. Stick it out and learn the job. Once you are on your own, you can expect to make quite a bit after the first few weeks since you'll be getting a lot of overtime from being on the extra board. Don't be in a rush to stay late, come in early, work your RDO's, etc. when you are new - you'll be making money as it is. Get through probation, learn your subdivision, and wait until you have more experience and familiarization before doing late clears/overtime/RDOs etc.

Last, your learning does NOT end when you finish schoolcar. In fact, in many ways it just begins. If you have good trainers during posting, they will give you manuals - some homemade - with info about the area you were working in that day. Some locations may even have their own "official" things they give out. It's not for you to study all in one day, and forget about. KEEP THEM and look at them from time to time to keep sharp about that area. If you're going to be working in that location, BRING IT to work and look at it throughout the day to make sure you know what you're doing. Don't "wing it" - that's how you wind up making mistakes.

Take pride in your job and do it the best you can. Train Operator / Motorman is a SKILLED job, let's keep it that way. The job gets dumbed down every time you need a babysitter to watch you once you're out on your own. When your train goes out of service for a routine problem that could have been overcome. When you cause a delay with a signal hit that was caused by carelessness or inattention. When you can't overcome a solvable problem on a put-in, or a yard move, causing a passenger train to not run, a yard move necessary to provide cars for service to stop. When your operation is rough, and people complain about it. When you don't know where you're going, and wind up somewhere else. When you don't do your job and make someone else do it for you. TAKE PRIDE IN YOUR WORK!!!

I'm not too concerned about medical. I was curious about education history, I have college credits spread out between a few colleges but no degrees. I was thinking of just leaving off any of the college that I did take since I don't have a degree anyway and just random credits here and there. I spoke to one of the people there and she said I should put it in. But I'm not sure if she misunderstood why I was asking to leave it off. Also do you have to provide transcripts?

Always tell them everything.

You don't need to provide transcripts. Transit can verify that info without you from the colleges listed. You may be asked how many credits you completed, however, so at minimum be able to provide that number for each school on the 21 page booklet.

I went in on Tuesday 8/19/14. It turns out both letters I received were just errors, the starting salary is as you guys said. I went in for just another drug test since my last one was so close to being expired. The only tip that I can give is to get there early. The first time I went I was 3rd in line this time I was 4th. Both times I got there about a half-hour to 45 mins early and both times I was out within 90 mins. The bulk of that time was waiting to give a urine sample. Since everyone goes to the same office to do the DT from pre-interviews to MTA vets fresh from vacation they do a first come first serve basis. Also if you don't want to get put on hold for the pre-interview make sure all parking tickets and driving violations are taken care of. They can't proceed if anything is pending. I can't stress that part enough. I saw one guy get put on hold between his first and second DT because he had gotten a ticket that wasn't taken care of between that time. You don't want something as silly as a moving violation keeping you from getting to the next step.  

While it is always good to get there early since it helps move things along, be aware that when you get the phone call to come in for the medical and pre-employment, that it will be an all day affair no matter how early you get there. Bring your lunch, as well as everything else you are told to, but wait until after your blood pressure is taken to eat it.

Additionally be prepared to get documentation from your doctor that day (or make arrangements to have it beforehand for any known issues) for anything in your health history that could cause them to put you on medical hold. Nip it in the bud, and you may even get placed in a class that day (at which point you will be sworn in, fingerprinted, photographed, and given a start date). However, if you are forced to go on medical hold, classes are getting filled while you are on hold, and you will be losing valuable seniority and delaying your start date in the process. As you mentioned, you can also be placed on administrative hold if you have outstanding tickets, violations, fines, adjudications, or unresolved items in your paperwork. You want to go walk in at early o'clock and go home (at whatever time) with a start date and no open issues.

First Day: 130 Livingston - HR Orientation and Benefits. You'll receive your pass

Second Day: 130 Livingston - Uniform measurements, more required trainings (equal opportunity employment, violence in the workplace), you will pick your subdivision if your class has a choice

Days 3-5: More required trainings (videos, presentations, etc.) and Equipment Issue. You will also go through Track Safety at the end of Week 1. Whether or not you actually walk the tracks will depend on whether or not there is time for you to get your safety shoes the first week. On Day 5 you may also meet your 2 primary schoolcar instructors.

The second week you will be broken down into your individual classes of no more than 10, and you will be governed by your instructors as to reporting time and location, as well as subject material until you reach Yard Posting.

During schoolcar - with the exception of your time as Yard Extra (which occurs after Yard Posting) - you will be off Sunday/Saturday (TA week starts on Sunday) and all major holidays. Class will, with a couple possible exceptions for one day special events like Fire Safety School or the Train Simulator Lab, either be from 0700-1500 hours, or from 1500-2300 hrs.

Thanks, everyone, for keeping us updated.  I'm much further out than the others who've recently posted, at 37xx. 

I had a few questions.

If anyone is able to answer them I'd be very grateful.

If they've been answered in the past I apologize for being repetitive.  I have read many pages of this thread but I'm trying to determine if anything has changed recently, or is expected to change soon, as opposed to how things have been for many years.

The first appointment at 180 Livingston is just to submit your background packet and take a drug test? or is there typically a full physical exam and related tests (vision, hearing) at that point?

After you go to 180 Livingston for your initial appointment, what are the further steps required before getting sent to school car? and how long does it typically take after the initial appointment to get into school car?

As far as anyone knows, is the scheduling of school car and hiring of train operators remaining at a steady pace? One of the posters had suggested they might start having school car classes every week, and another poster said he thought they would be bringing in more train operators and fewer conductors in future school car classes.

Does anyone expect scheduling of school car classes and/or hiring of train operators to change much after Labor Day, through the end of the year?

First appointment at Livingston is drug test ONLY. Bring the 5 page application booklet, your IDs, the letter you received in the mail, a list of all medications you are taking, and dress decent. You will turn in paperwork, go for a drug test, then be given the 21 page personnel file booklet. That is all. Physical, etc. are NOT done on the first day. You will also leave them a phone number to contact you.

After your initial drug test, you will be notified to come back. If you've waited and haven't been placed in a class, you may receive another notice to come in for another drug test. This doesn't mean you're in trouble, or the first one didn't go perfect...all it means is that it expired, and you will need to take another one that will be current. Once they are ready for you, you will receive a phone call (always a phone call) telling you to come back for the physical. This is a full day. You will then hand in the completed 21 personnel file booklet (you will have done this on your own time beforehand of course), answer a medical questionnaire, and get a full physical. If everything checks out, the position will be offered to you that day if a class is open, and you will be sworn in, fingerprinted, photographed for your employee pass, and given a start date that you are to report for schoolcar, as well as a benefits packet and (sometimes) a rulebook. Otherwise you will have to come back. This is very case by case - there is no cookie cutter solution to how this part goes. If you are prepared, you can make it through the physical to actually getting hired in one day. Note: Transit still has 11 months after you accept the position to verify info you provided them, so if you lied about something (like not having a criminal record) expect them to find it, and you will be terminated if it's determined that you hid something.

Conductors are on hold for a while so more Train Operators can be brought in. Hiring plans are usually done about 6 months out, but they can change or be altered. The scheduling is generally one large group hired per month, which is then split into classes of no more than 10 in each title. The size of the group and the composition of Train Ops to CRs varies, as does the subdivisions (A or B) that they can go to. I have heard nothing stating classes every week as that puts a tremendous drain on schoolcar resources.

No. They are continuing to hire bucketloads of Train Operators for the foreseeable future while Conductor hiring is on hold for the time being.

Train Operator rate is most definitely not $20.2591. It is an error. However, you should still question it when you go down to HR because you don't want an error to end up being displayed as your pay rate when you start.

$30.03 is the old starting (yard) rate for T/O under the old contract. The new rate is $31.25.

Once you have completed schoolcar and released to the ROAD (not "yard extra") you will earn starting road rate which is higher. I believe it's around $32.49 or $32.94 (I forget which).

Then after completion of 231 road days, the pay will increase to $33.16.

A road day is:

-A day you sign into a road job on the payroll (marked "RD" or "GD"), regardless of whether you were on the extra board or not.

-A day you sign onto a board job on the payroll (marked "BD") and pick up a Yard ("YD") or Station Switching ("SS") job from the board.

A road day is not:

-A day you work a Yard ("YD") or Station Switching ("SS") job without being on board first.

-A day you report for a board job and do not pick up a job.

-A day you fall to the board from the road job you had been previously assigned, and do not pick up a job off the board.

Hope this clarifies any compensation questions.

Got my start date....Aug 25th......so excited.

Congrats and welcome aboard

Can anyone share any tips on braking on the R-46 ?  I am posting on the A line and is my first time on the 46 during posting.  I was all over the place, not out of the station, but its either I come up short where the marker is at the beginning of the bulkhead or a little too far where the marker is at the end of my cab window.

 

I am actually more comfortable with two handed operation and prefer 68a's over the 46s.. I know every 46 can brake differently but this is what I noticed.

 

1) I was going about 5 mph (just passed the 8 car marker) and noticed I took too much brake and about to stop, I put it to coast, then grabbed brake back immediately, it wasn't grabbing then I put the MC in full service and the marker was at the end of my cab window.

 

2) I noticed on some 46 there is a delay just like the 68as if you release all the way you can't get it back until its too late.

 

3) The 46 is much harder to stop when going slow/moderate speed than coming in with authority, more so than with any other train with my limited experience.

 

I never had so much trouble with stopping a train than with a 46. Obviously I have not mastered any train yet, not even remotely close, but I am not all over the place with other models.

 

Any words of wisdom is greatly appreciated.

46's are probably the poster child for no two trains brake alike. Take advantage of the first few stations to figure out what kind of brake you have. These are the sorts of things you will want to figure out with an R-46 in the first few stations:

-Is the minimum brake heavy, or light? (As a note: R-46 minimum brakes are generally fairly heavy when you are going 35 MPH or more. They are fairly light when you are going 25 MPH or less, and in between at 25-35. However some cars really bang when you take even the smallest brake at high speeds...that's why this is here)

-How much of a delay is there between pulling brake, and getting it (the cars have an electric brake package so there will be a delay which can vary from less than half a second, to sometimes a second or more). Note this delay will apply when taking an initial brake, but also when pulling more brake when a brake is already applied, and represents the delay before you feel the additional brake.

-How much brake the train gives back when you pull brake well into the service range, and release to minimum brake. Some trains hold a much heavier brake in minimum brake under this circumstance than others.

Once you know these things about YOUR train - and I stress this because every train is different, you can begin to make the necessary adjustments.

Tips and Tricks with the R-46:

-Always start with a minimum brake and adjust from there. It makes the ride a lot smoother.

-Once you pull a brake, try to always hold that brake, even if you have to go to minimum. Once you go into coast (or, technically, more than halfway in the space between minimum brake and coast - there is some play there we will talk about later) you will lose your brakes, and as you mentioned, experience a delay when you pull them back, and will feel the train appear to "slide" in the process.

-Try to be releasing brake as you approach the stop vs. grabbing more. If operated the second way, the R-46 can make some very rough/uncomfortable stops. It's not a goal to try and stop the train in full service each time. You want to be giving brake back as you approach the 10 car marker.

-If you have a train that doesn't give brake back well (IE you grab, say, 30 pounds of air, realize you're going to undershoot the mark, and start releasing brake, but the train is still stopping too quickly) move the controller handle very carefully just past minimum brake, but NO MORE THAN HALFWAY between minimum brake and coast. This will let go of more air but keep the brake applied so you won't feel the buck of going to coast nor experience the same delay if you feel the need to pull more brake. This technique takes practice but will give you much better control of the train. Leave yourself room so if you do overshoot and accidentally coast, you're not doing this in a part of the station that will cause you to run out. You can also use this technique coming from coast if you want a very light initial application of the brakes, although at high speeds it will feel very similar to a minimum brake.

-At high speeds only: If you can't get the train not to buck when taking an initial brake (train has heavy initial brake) try sweeping the controller further into the service range than minimum brake, and quickly bringing it back to minimum brake. Sometimes this has the effect of making the initial slowdown "feel" smoother.

-Always coast for a few seconds before you take a brake, same as with other SMEE cars.

-When accelerating, keep the controller in minimum brake until you get indication (you really shouldn't be taking full service every stop, but if you are, when you hear the door closing chime, go to minimum brake - Exception: leaving signal is red. Take a full service and don't do a thing till it clears except buzz your partner...you'll never hit a leaving red this way). When you get indication, move slowly from minimum brake to parallel. If the train really bangs when you take power still, you have to adjust your operation even further. For these trains, when you get indication go from minimum brake to switching and hold it there until you feel the train start to roll, then notch up to series, and then parallel. Train won't bang this way.

Happy 46ing!

I have a question. I was on board at 1 location, and picked up part of a job at another location. By what your saying, I reported at 0500, and picked up last 2 trips of job 2xx at another location. So that means I wouldnt be putting job 2xx on the ot slip, I would be putting the board job on the slip? Where do I find the board job, I didnt know they had job numbers. First time ive been in a situation like this

Correct. Your job on the slip is the board job, and the fact you picked up the last two trips of another job are a "late clear" along with "deadhead/travel time" since you're clearing at a different location.

Whenever this happens, look on the payroll for your board job number when you sign in and note it somewhere. If you forget, you can always check the crew assignment sheets for your board job number if the board job was assigned in advance. However, if you "fell to the board" due to a double report, this won't work, and you'll have to either call the crew office or your sign on location to get your board job number if you didn't get it from the payroll when you signed in.

You will see your board job number to the right of the lines to sign in and out on the payroll at your starting location. Just as you might see this when working a road job:

Job No.

310

RD

You will see something like this when you're on board to the right of the sign in and out lines:

Job No.

604

BD

Thanks guys. Took so long to finally get to this point......we all have got to be the most patient ppl on the planet. Obviously school is different times, but does school happen on weekends?

At the end of the first week, before you split up into your individual classes and meet your instructors, you will be given a tentative (subject to change) schedule for the duration of your time in schoolcar. It will cover all time from Classroom, to Road Ops Practice (with your instructors), to Yard Posting, YX, Road Posting, and all of your additional qualifications (fire school) and exam dates.

It is very much subject to change, but the days that you will be working are very unlikely to change. Obviously things like posting you will not know your start times yet, but you will know you are working that day.

Generally speaking you will be working Monday through Friday for the duration of schoolcar, with the exception of YX - Yard Extra, but also possibly with the exception of Thanksgiving week (you may come in the Sunday before Thanksgiving so you have a 4 day weekend on Thanksgiving). You will be off on the majority of TA holidays. TA Holidays: New Year's Day, MLK Day, President's Day, Lincoln's Bday, Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day

The majority of your schoolcar class time will either be 7AM to 3PM, or 3PM to 11PM. Midnight road ops with your instructors will be 7PM - 3AM. Posting will be all tours. Your schedule will have all this info in it.

OK I'm going to keep this as simple as possible in that somewhat complicated scenario. Assume for the example you are posting on the #6 line and reporting to Pelham Bay (PEL), and are posted with a trainer who has a job with a layup who clears in Westchester Yard (WES).

AT LOCATION #1 (Original Report)
-0600 report for work at PEL.
 
Dispatcher at Location 1 puts you on the manual from 0600 at PEL to 1400 at PEL. No one is available or willing to take you as a student yet, so you are told to sit down in the crew room and wait for someone. You SIGN IN ONLY, and leave the "out" blank.
 
-0800 someone agrees to take you as a student.
 
Dispatcher at Location 1 calls you back and you meet your trainer who has a job (let's call the job 218) from 0800 at PEL to 1600, but clears at WES. You don't fill out any overtime slips yet. You meet your trainer, give him/her your name and pass # for his/her overtime slip, and that's it. In the comments on the manual where you signed in, the Dispatcher or you will write something along the lines of "Student Posting 6-218."
 
That's it for location #1.
 
Now....
 
AT LOCATION 2 (CLEARING LOCATION):

You've posted on the entire job and it's time to go home. The Dispatcher at Westchester Yard will not have you on the manual since it's a different location. You will need to be added to the manual. You will probably have to show the Dispatcher your posting paper.
 
The manual should match the manual at the original location (Pelham Bay) exactly. Your reporting location should read PEL 06:00 and your clearing time and location should read PEL 14:00. And your comments should read "Student Posting 6-218", and "SQ" in the remarks, EXACTLY like Pelham Bay.
 
You will NOT be signing in again. Place a bunch of X's (xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) on the IN line of the manual at Westchester Yard and sign OUT only.
 
Now you will be filling out your overtime slip - at the end of the day. Here is what it should have on it:
 
Regular assignment: Student posting 6-218 Report: 0600 Relief: 1400 Date: The actual date Actual OT Date: The date the overtime on the slip counts for.
 
A quick word on date/actual OT date - this only comes into play usually when working midnights or a PM job that clears after midnight. If you're filling out a slip for a PM job on 8/25 after you clear at 1am on 8/26, the "actual OT date" will be 8/25, while the "date" will be 8/26. Just make sure you fill out the dates correctly.
 
THEN....
 
First Code = 40 (Late Clear)
Line/Location = Line you posted / location you are filling the slip out at. Sticking to the example, Say it's the 6 line. You reported to Pelham (PEL) at 0600 and picked up a job that clears at Westchester Yard (WES). Line/Location = 6/WES.
Run No. = 6-### (job number you posted on) and add the word POST after if posting. So if it's 218 job, 6-218 POST. You NEED to do this so your slip does not get mixed up with your trainer's should a situation arise where both of you are filling out a slip for the same thing, so it's good practice to always do it when posting. Any discrepancy, they will only pay one of you and since your trainer's name is on the job you might end up "S.O.L."...

Second Code = 49 (Deadhead)

Line/Location = 6 / WES -> PEL
Run No. = Still 6/218 POST.
Comments: = "Student posting on #6 line. Reported to PEL at 0600 as per posting papers and posted on job 218 which begins at 0800. Posted entirety of 6-218 which clears at 1600 in WES. Added deadhead allowance back to PEL."

And that's it.

After you got the confirmation #, a prompt will play which says "To hear your confirmation number again, press 1. To not, press 2"

If you don't press 2, your request never actually goes in.

Once you press 2, you will hear "your request has been submitted" and the prompt will go back to the main menu. Then, and only then, can you hang up.

In that case, he should get in touch with schoolcar, and let them contact the crew office regarding the aforementioned days on his behalf as it will be more likely to make something happen. (This assumes the date in question is during a scheduled YX day, as opposed to a posting day).

That said, he will still need a legitimate reason for the request.

gotcha, i thought the 3 months that we posted we get random rdo's not the sat/sunday like we been getting. works good for me cause i needed a saturday off for some family stuff

That's not posting. The 3 months is YX (Yard Extra) for new Train Operators, during which time they belong to the crew office, however they do not belong to the crew office until they are released to the crew office by schoolcar after completing yard posting beforehand, so if you call the crew office about this they will not know you exist yet.

I believe that RDO's can change during YX, but I'm not 100% sure as I've been told this, but every YX person I've spoken to has had Sunday/Saturday RDO's.

Reasons for late clear is a must, for example: flagging (location), interval from departing terminal due to ....., switch or signal problems at where..., inclement weather at...., RCC asked you to call them back when you are the arriving terminal.

 

G.O. Late clear (943): put acct number, supplement number and G.O. Number

Include any late layups, car washes, relays you might pick up.

GO Late clear only applies to the scheduled portion of your late clear directly caused by the GO and supplement.

If, for example, you have a job that is 2pm to 10pm, but because of a GO, you have to go local instead of express (and therefore clear at 10:10pm), you put a GO late clear from 2200 to 2210 and quote the supplement, GO, and account number (TA Job #) as you said.

However, if you arrive at 2220 due to a sick customer at the second to last stop, that portion 2210-2220 is just a straight late clear (code 40).

yo, i wanna request an RDO for a day while i am gonna be yard posting. how do i do that, they never told us how

You cannot request RDO's while in schoolcar. Your RDO's are Sunday/Saturday for the duration of schoolcar, with the exception of Thanksgiving week where they are Friday/Saturday (you will work the Sunday before) so that you can have a four day weekend on Thanksgiving.

You don't have any accumulated balances - AVA, OTO, PLD, Birthday - since you are a new employee. If you want the day, you will have to talk to your instructors, who will handle it with a schoolcar superintendent, and you will most likely have to take unpaid leave upon properly explaining a valid reason for needing the day - court appearance, family emergency, medical situation for you or a loved one, etc. They won't give you the day off just because you want to go to the beach. Additionally, you will have to make up the day of posting.

Question for the current T/O's. I've noticed over the past few classes called, that A-div seems to be where most guys being called are heading into. Is that because of more openings on the A div, current T/O's going from A to B div or are they trying to level the fields since a lot of guys want the B div. Also if you get A div, do you have to go back to school to get B div considering the difference in equipment used.

More retirements and promotions of T/O's in A Div at the moment, plus a few losing their handles so they have a shortage.

The movement dictates who goes where for new hires.

Whichever division you are qualified in, you must go back to schoolcar to qualify for the other division. There are separate classes for:

-A Division T/O transferring to the B Division

-B Division T/O transferring to the A Division

-A or B Division employee transferring to Work Trains (this will include A to B, or B to A transfer class also if it has not been completed as work train T/O must be qualified in both divisions. It also includes miscellaneous qualification).

-OPTO Qualification (GC Shuttle, Midnight #5 shuttle, late night "A" Lefferts shuttle, Franklin Ave. Shuttle, Rockaway Park Shuttle, weekend "G", weekend "M").

-CBTC Qualification ("L" line)

When you are extra extra as a new employee, the crew office may send you (at their discretion) for OPTO or CBTC Qualification. If you are picked extra list and have at least 2 years on the job, the crew office may send you (at their discretion) for work train qualification, especially if you are already A/B Qualified.

Otherwise, you will have to pick a job when you need the additional training to be eligible for it. IE if you want to be CBTC Qualified, pick a job on the "L".

Cut the s*** out. The rest of us don't want to read an internet pissing contest.

Back on topic.

I believe you can save the penalty jobs as OTO when you're posting because you're only paid 8 hours until you fill out an exception form. I could be wrong though

That is correct, because while the overtime is built into your trainer's job when posting, it is not built into YOUR job...therefore it is unscheduled overtime, and can be saved as OTO.

SubwayGuy, is it true that you can save the OT from a penalty job to OTO instead?

OTO you can save:

-Working an RDO.

-Unscheduled late clear (meaning in excess of the penalty portion of your job, should you have one) - this also includes staying to work a late clear, should you do this

-Board time

-Deadhead that is not built into the job

-Extra trip

-Early reports

You cannot save OTO from:

-Taking a student

-No lunch

-Overtime already built into the job you are working

-Deadhead already built into the job you are working

If you attempt to save OTO from these things, more than likely someone at timekeeping will catch you on it and you will simply be paid for your overtime in question, and no OTO will be saved for you from these things.

Example: You work an RDO (8 hours OT + 4 hours Bonus) AND take a student (2 hours Bonus). The job is an 8 hour job. You fill out your slip incorrectly and attempt to save 14 hours as OTO. The slip is signed by the T/D who doesn't catch it. When it goes to timekeeping, it will be adjusted and you will accrue 12 hours OTO and receive 2 hours pay (since you cannot save the bonus from taking a student as OTO). Timekeeping will usually do this - this is actually the better scenario. The worst case is they send the slip back to the terminal altogether and now you've got to resubmit the whole thing again, and good luck getting paid if you can't find that T/D to sign your "corrected" slip...

Next part: If you only wish to save part of your overtime as OTO, you must save a minimum of 2 hours. If you have less than 2 hours of overtime, you must either get paid, or save all of it as OTO...you cannot save part.

Example #1: Work an RDO, job is straight 8 hours, put in 8+4 on the slip when you sign in. You may save 2 hours of OTO and take 10 hours pay for the RDO, you may take no pay and save 12 hours OTO, or anything in between. But if you elect to save any OTO, you must save at least 2 hours. You can also save no OTO and get paid 12 hours.

Example #2: Incur a late clear due to flagging (10 minutes OT + 5 minutes bonus). You must either get paid for the 15 minutes, or save all 15 as OTO. You cannot save, say, 5 minutes, and get paid for the 10.

Approx. 40 T/O and 60 C/R every month.

wait, so those of us that are posting... if the job pays 9 hrs then we need to put in an exception claim for the extra hr? because out tss's said that we do not have to submit the exception claim until we go over the time paid for the job assignment

Submit an overtime slip for anything over 8 hours to be paid when you are posting.

Example

-Your posting papers say to report at 1613 to 148th St. / Lenox to post on the #3 line.

-The TO/CR who is posting you signs into job 3-310. The job starts at 1613 and clears at 0045. Job works 8:32, pays 8:48 with 5 minutes radio time. Their overtime is built in, and they do not need to fill out an overtime slip for the penalty portion of their job.

-You sign in and post on job 3-310 which starts at 1613 and clears at 0045. However, if the TD that signs you in does this correctly, you will actually be signed on from 1613 to 0013 with comments saying "posting 3-310" and SQ (Student Qualifying) in the remarks. Therefore, you MUST fill out an overtime slip for a "late clear" from 0013 to 0045 to get paid for the penalty portion. In the comments, simply write "posted on job 3-310, a penalty job which clears at 0045" and you will get paid.

-The TO/CR who is posting you does, however, have to fill out an overtime slip for taking you as a student (two hours bonus). Write your name and pass on their overtime slip (or tell them so they can write it), and that ensures that THEY get paid.

If you follow this advice, you will have no problem getting paid while posting. You are on the clock from the time on the posting papers (or, the time the Dispatcher starts you at, if you arrive early and are posted on a job that begins prior to your reporting time on the posting papers) until 8 hours after that. Anything beyond that you must submit an overtime slip.