TrainFanatic Posted March 6, 2011 Share #1 Posted March 6, 2011 Old but rather interesting article about what trackworkers face once they enter "the hole." This article is five pages long, so remember to scroll down in order to click for the next page. Blood on the TracksEvery time a trackworker goes into the tunnels, there’s a chance he won’t come back out. What the world looks like when a 400-ton train is barreling toward you at 30 miles per hour. The trackworkers who toil in the city’s subway tunnels call their workplace “the hole.” It’s a dank and dark and unsettling place. Bloated rats float in puddles of muck. The stench of garbage and urine and exhaust permeates the air. It’s either eerily silent or filled with the brain-rattling noise of trains blasting their horns as they barrel by. There’s so much steel dust swirling around that when you blow your nose your snot is black. On summer days, the temperature regularly exceeds 100 degrees; in the winter, it’s below freezing. Lost pets and homeless drug addicts occasionally stagger by, and every so often the cops chase a perp onto the tracks. Other than that, the only inhabitants are the workers and the rats and the ghosts of all the people who have died down here. Continue reading here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EE Broadway Local Posted March 12, 2011 Share #2 Posted March 12, 2011 Very interesting article. I admire the Trackworkers and Power Distribution Men (PD Men) in our subway. Thank you TrainFanatic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald Posted March 12, 2011 Share #3 Posted March 12, 2011 Track workers are underpaid. Why does a T/O make more than a track worker? A track worker should be getting road car inspector pay. Samuelsen should address this pay disparity in the next contract since he is a former track worker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubwayGuy Posted March 12, 2011 Share #4 Posted March 12, 2011 Track workers are underpaid. Why does a T/O make more than a track worker? A track worker should be getting road car inspector pay. Samuelsen should address this pay disparity in the next contract since he is a former track worker. That's not how the Union works. It negotiates pay increases for ALL employees, not one or the other. Otherwise there would be even MORE favoritism in the union than there already is, and each department would have to nominate "its own" for union leadership if it ever hoped to get a raise. Historically, the union's strength (during the 1930s to 1960s - America's growth out of the Depression to the greatest country in the world), was because of its numbers, so that if there was a labor issue with say, operating personnel, the union could threaten to shut down EVERYTHING until a fair deal was hammered out. Back in the 1910's, operating personnel would have walked out, but replacement workers from other titles could have staffed those jobs. And that's one of several reasons that accidents like Malbone Street were possible back then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BJC Posted March 13, 2011 Share #5 Posted March 13, 2011 Track workers are underpaid. Why does a T/O make more than a track worker? A track worker should be getting road car inspector pay. Samuelsen should address this pay disparity in the next contract since he is a former track worker. How much does a track worker get pay by an hour? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald Posted March 13, 2011 Share #6 Posted March 13, 2011 Currently it is $30 an hour I believe. They get the same pay as B/Os. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrainFanatic Posted March 13, 2011 Author Share #7 Posted March 13, 2011 Very interesting article. I admire the Trackworkers and Power Distribution Men (PD Men) in our subway. Thank you TrainFanatic. No problem. I too admire the people that keep our system moving (esp trackworkers). I think the most dangerous part of the job is setting up flags in very dark tunnels. The m/m may not always see you in time untill it's too late. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald Posted March 13, 2011 Share #8 Posted March 13, 2011 Why do people become track workers when there are lots of other jobs that are far less dangerous and less physically demanding? (ie: T/O, B/O, C/R, etc.). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtetro Posted March 13, 2011 Share #9 Posted March 13, 2011 I will say this: they are better men than I. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LRG Posted March 13, 2011 Share #10 Posted March 13, 2011 Why do people become track workers when there are lots of other jobs that are far less dangerous and less physically demanding? (ie: T/O, B/O, C/R, etc.). Why not? They wanna sign up for the job then let 'em. Who are you to infringe on their right to work in whatever field they please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mediccjh Posted March 14, 2011 Share #11 Posted March 14, 2011 Please, watch the Nazi Banksters Crimes Ripple Effect at http://jforjustice.co.uk/banksters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Posted March 14, 2011 Share #12 Posted March 14, 2011 Why do people become track workers when there are lots of other jobs that are far less dangerous and less physically demanding? (ie: T/O, B/O, C/R, etc.). Because they have the stomach and the balls to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EE Broadway Local Posted March 15, 2011 Share #13 Posted March 15, 2011 The really amazing workers, I think, are our PD Men. They maintain and repair the third rail. Did you know there was a famous track worker with the real name of "Smelley Kelley"? I kid you not. He was legendary and so good at his job, he solved the problem of elephants in our subway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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