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EXCLUSIVE: MTA asks retired motormen to help during manpower shortage


RTOMan

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I can see why this is happening. Ultimately it all goes back to the unpreventable domino effect from a devastating hurricane. Because according to the article there is an urgent desperate need for train crews who are trained to handle the extra consists on the road as the result of the Montague st split, also certified workers to continue the Sandy recovery work. It takes time to train new recruits and the MTA does not have time on its side. Otherwise they would have went ahead with the hiring process to hire more personel. Which may exactly be what may happen actually in the light of all this, but they need qualified personel *now*. Understandable.

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I don't know the specifics of the program but maybe they figure that it's cheaper to re-hire the retiree since the (MTA) is already on the hook as far as benefits. New employee= benefits for the next 30 years + the retiree's benefits. Before anyone asks the answer is no. I know the M/M in the article very well and it's his choice to make. The only way I would think of returning to RTO is as a Superintendant or deputy on the (5) line but my compatriots already hold those positions. Even then 6 months would be the max I could put up with some of the BS before packing it in. It's funny but 30 years ago we had a manpower shortage in the IRT. Back then M/M were working as C/Rs on their RDOs and many in the union and rank and file didn't agree with it then.

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Because it would take six months to train them. Not sure of the specifics, let RTOman answer that one.

 

You gave the right answer it takes months to train ill clarify something else. 

 

Of coruse with some of these new TOs just screwing up royally....

 

Yes some off the street ones you just get asked to hand in your tools. Which hurts them because now your extra "slot" needs to be filled again. Maybe some people are under the assumption that TA will give you second third and fourth chances..

 

Here is a hint to some folks waiting to come down here.. NO...

 

Take what i said with a grain of salt or say "oh i know a new TO with bah blah blah blah".. Yeah you can say that too if you so choose.

 

TA isnt playing anymore and folks gonna find this out the hard way.

 

Next month classes of 60 start. They cant train them fast enough.

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I don't know the specifics of the program but maybe they figure that it's cheaper to re-hire the retiree since the (MTA) is already on the hook as far as benefits. New employee= benefits for the next 30 years + the retiree's benefits. Before anyone asks the answer is no. I know the M/M in the article very well and it's his choice to make. The only way I would think of returning to RTO is as a Superintendant or deputy on the (5) line but my compatriots already hold those positions. Even then 6 months would be the max I could put up with some of the BS before packing it in. It's funny but 30 years ago we had a manpower shortage in the IRT. Back then M/M were working as C/Rs on their RDOs and many in the union and rank and file didn't agree with it then.

 

I know the TO in the article as well I met him when i started way back in 2001 in the A Div a good guy can drive ya nuts heh. Always was willing to help anybody who needed it. Once he told me something "Hey is a great job i love it but  when its time for me to go im going to go and not come back" Looks like he meant it huh?

 

He posted the letter on FaceBook for us RTO folks to see..

 

Folks got lots of laughs outta it actually.

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You gave the right answer it takes months to train ill clarify something else. 

 

Of coruse with some of these new TOs just screwing up royally....

 

Yes some off the street ones you just get asked to hand in your tools. Which hurts them because now your extra "slot" needs to be filled again. Maybe some people are under the assumption that TA will give you second third and fourth chances..

 

Here is a hint to some folks waiting to come down here.. NO...

 

Take what i said with a grain of salt or say "oh i know a new TO with bah blah blah blah".. Yeah you can say that too if you so choose.

 

TA isnt playing anymore and folks gonna find this out the hard way.

 

Next month classes of 60 start. They cant train them fast enough.

 

Sounds like what's happening in my field. Many programmers, computer techs, and network engineers come in companies with impressive and glittering resumes and get hired, talking the talk to the hiring managers but not able to walk the walk. Once the IT managers find out that many of those who went through interviews lied about their qualifications and technical skills over time the heads start to roll when they cannot solve certain problems.

 

Many industry analysts have their opinions over this but one thing is for sure: Positions cannot be filled. Same problem.

 

There is a serious braindrain in the IT industry as a result, as the hiring managers upped the qualifications for positions offered to screen out the shit-talkers who claim they have a working concept of database management and networking when they are only knowledgeable in terms of booksmarts, not experience. In the IT field there is another problem, unlike traditional fields in skilled trades (Such as with the MTA) or in healthcare (nurses and the like) the work gets outsourced making it harder for locals to land the big breaks. At least with the MTA even in its IT departments that is not happening - as far as I know, the MTA does not outsource work from the IT departments within the MTA.

 

Two Timer mentioned something that's very important in regards to rookie T/Os and C/Rs that absolutely applies to IT professionals in my opinion: Take on a humble attitude with your superiors and network with your colleagues, with a willingness to learn and DON'T lie! Better asking a stupid question then to claim you know it all when you don't.. That way even a IT professional who even is mediocre in his or her skill can still go far.

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Realizm brings up a great point here that everyone is hinting to--despite all the economic problems today, especially massive unemployment, there actually are a lot of openings in specialized fields that require specific knowledge, whether it is IT knowledge, knowledge to operate a subway car, etc. I

 

f our schools figured out how to better prep students for "real world" jobs we would be able to better fill a lot of those positions and boost the economy. Instead, the public schools give useless tests every 5 minutes and colleges are becoming too expensive for people to attend. Oy vey. [End of rant]

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Sounds like what's happening in my field. Many programmers, computer techs, and network engineers come in companies with impressive and glittering resumes and get hired, talking the talk to the hiring managers but not able to walk the walk. Once the IT managers find out that many of those who went through interviews lied about their qualifications and technical skills over time the heads start to roll when they cannot solve certain problems.

 

Many industry analysts have their opinions over this but one thing is for sure: Positions cannot be filled. Same problem.

 

There is a serious braindrain in the IT industry as a result, as the hiring managers upped the qualifications for positions offered to screen out the shit-talkers who claim they have a working concept of database management and networking when they are only knowledgeable in terms of booksmarts, not experience. In the IT field there is another problem, unlike traditional fields in skilled trades (Such as with the MTA) or in healthcare (nurses and the like) the work gets outsourced making it harder for locals to land the big breaks. At least with the MTA even in its IT departments that is not happening - as far as I know, the MTA does not outsource work from the IT departments within the MTA.

 

Two Timer mentioned something that's very important in regards to rookie T/Os and C/Rs that absolutely applies to IT professionals in my opinion: Take on a humble attitude with your superiors and network with your colleagues, with a willingness to learn and DON'T lie! Better asking a stupid question then to claim you know it all when you don't.. That way even a IT professional who even is mediocre in his or her skill can still go far.

 

Actually my point isn't about being cocky or brash its about the simple things. 

 

Following proper Instructions.

 

You can be a nice person but if you having issues following what is asked of you to do then something is wrong.

 

I am seeing this with these TOs out here with this three months in the Yard MISTAKE(I put that in caps for a reason and it looks like it's becoming a reality). Some of them just look lost and its just simple yd moves.

 

Schoolcar 101 is Yard Movement before Mainline. Some folks aren't going to get it, the messed up part  if you ask me is them not getting it will get exposed more out on their own than in class mostly.

 

You have TSSs in Schoolcar who drill drill dril these things in folks heads,it is tough but the fact is not everybody can be a Train Operator.

 

I could cares less how many times they say they can.

 

Just my thoughts.

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Actually my point isn't about being cocky or brash its about the simple things. 

 

Following proper Instructions.

 

You can be a nice person but if you having issues following what is asked of you to do then something is wrong.

 

I am seeing this with these TOs out here with this three months in the Yard MISTAKE(I put that in caps for a reason and it looks like it's becoming a reality). Some of them just look lost and its just simple yd moves.

 

Yep. Thats what I mean when the IT managers discovers that some of the techs they hire look at the dual screens @ IT helpdesk during a call with eyes glazed over because they do not know what to do with some situations when (as an example) it's simply something like doing a ipconfig/release and renew from the control prompt to resolve DNS/DHCP sever problems resulting in lack of internet/intranet connectivity. This happened the other day where a so called senior tech could not figure out a problem when it was simply a static IP address issue. Or a MS Exchange issue that can be easily fixed with a password reset or by creating a new MS outlook profile. 

 

Some struggling with remote desktop, stuff like that. So likewise with new T/Os looking lost in doing simple yard moves I've seen helpdesk techs equally lost in simply redeploying an image that has been custom made, or to simply connect a new workstation to an existing network on the hardware end. 

 

Just yesterday a tech confronted a problem where he erroneously reports to me that a user was viewing child pornography and reported it to Human Resources. It was indicated in the ticket that it was a lock up by the US courts. I said thats impossible because then the FBI would have showed up and seized the equipment, also, if we are on a secure WAN then how in the world can the US courts break in if the ISP and the network administrators gave no indication that they was ordered by the courts to reveal IP info? My network administrator ordered me to do a sweep, which I did. Nothing. I would have known what the user deleted even because it's a roaming profile and that records are kept in the software monitors only techs have privy to with administrator permissions.

 

Turns out it was a new form of ransomware (a worm) called the US Courts Virus after I did the research and conveyed it to the IT specialists in network security. I then formatted the HDD to wipe out the virus then redeployed the image, and the ISP was contacted to confirm that the user was not on a malicious website viewing child porn. Because it was a virus not the FBI or the US Courts.

 

Link: http://news.uscourts.gov/computer-warning-seeking-money-scam-us-courts-say

 

It's stupid mistakes like this that nearly got the reputable user nearly fired because of an idiotic assumption on the part of the so called senior tech lacking troubleshooting experience. Thats what I mean. Good thing I caught that mistake. The tech now is in hot water and the user in the finance department thanked me for clearing this up before he was fired for what was actually a hacking attempt.

 

So I see what you mean in terms of new RTO recruits and the similar problems to an extent.

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Ah ok then the sad thing is this Hole was dug and it got deeper now the ladder isn't helping..

 

All i have to say is folks waiting to be called for TO just be patient,  MTA gonna be a calling...

 

*Disclaimer* Just understand they wont be playing around. Either you got it or you don't....

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Yep. Thats what I mean when the IT managers discovers that some of the techs they hire look at the dual screens @ IT helpdesk during a call with eyes glazed over because they do not know what to do with some situations when (as an example) it's simply something like doing a ipconfig/release and renew from the control prompt to resolve DNS/DHCP sever problems resulting in lack of internet/intranet connectivity. This happened the other day where a so called senior tech could not figure out a problem when it was simply a static IP address issue. Or a MS Exchange issue that can be easily fixed with a password reset or by creating a new MS outlook profile. 

 

Some struggling with remote desktop, stuff like that. So likewise with new T/Os looking lost in doing simple yard moves I've seen helpdesk techs equally lost in simply redeploying an image that has been custom made, or to simply connect a new workstation to an existing network on the hardware end. 

 

Just yesterday a tech confronted a problem where he erroneously reports to me that a user was viewing child pornography and reported it to Human Resources. It was indicated in the ticket that it was a lock up by the US courts. I said thats impossible because then the FBI would have showed up and seized the equipment, also, if we are on a secure WAN then how in the world can the US courts break in if the ISP and the network administrators gave no indication that they was ordered by the courts to reveal IP info? My network administrator ordered me to do a sweep, which I did. Nothing. I would have known what the user deleted even because it's a roaming profile and that records are kept in the software monitors only techs have privy to with administrator permissions.

 

Turns out it was a new form of ransomware (a worm) called the US Courts Virus after I did the research and conveyed it to the IT specialists in network security. I then formatted the HDD to wipe out the virus then redeployed the image, and the ISP was contacted to confirm that the user was not on a malicious website viewing child porn. Because it was a virus not the FBI or the US Courts.

 

Link: http://news.uscourts.gov/computer-warning-seeking-money-scam-us-courts-say

 

It's stupid mistakes like this that nearly got the reputable user nearly fired because of an idiotic assumption on the part of the so called senior tech lacking troubleshooting experience. Thats what I mean. Good thing I caught that mistake. The tech now is in hot water and the user in the finance department thanked me for clearing this up before he was fired for what was actually a hacking attempt.

 

So I see what you mean in terms of new RTO recruits and the similar problems to an extent.

Something very lacking in people is curiosity, a basic trait that I believe to be so essential, it cannot be missing in anyone hoping for success. It's a common trait found in people who are self-taught in any field (but especially IT where it is common). The problems that you describe (resolving DHCP problems) is fixable by following simple instructions found through Google search. No prior knowledge is necessary. I wish people were more inclined to discover the roots of their problems, and have the motivation to solve them without delegating their work to someone else r hoping someone more competent than themselves would somehow magically make it go away.

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As a rookie with wet stripes, I try to stay very humble about it. I know that one screw-up can make me go back on the Boo-Boo Box. 

Don't be afraid to ask questions to clarify things you don't understand. Better to ask the question and look/sound dumb (Gawd knows I've had my moments in the 3.5 months solo) than to be asked to hand in your tools. 

I can say I was lucky. I had excellent Motor Instructors who taught us how to do the job CORRECTLY. 

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Not only is it cheaper, they already know the retirees and can trust them.

 

Ha ha  im not going to comment on that!

So the TA has the equivalent of a rubber room to discipline employees as well? Never knew that.

 

No its more like a Meat Grinder...

 

Labor Relations CURES all Foaming...

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