Exam 6601 Conductor 6601 Hiring Process

[alexx]

1 hour ago, Mohamed said:

Question all those documents that they sent in the email, we need to print everything out and have them filled out? 

Yes, follow the email, you will need to fill everything out.. Do not fill in anything you do not know because from my experience, you will take longer than having it not filled in and redo everything there. Make sure everything is close to same as what you had filled during pre employment. If it is very off, i'm sure you will be questioned and have problems arise.

I suggest leaving spaces out that you are unsure of and/or having multiple copies because if you don't do it properly, you will have to fix or redo it.. I spent a lot of time fixing and refilling it out there because of the employment and education histories..

It says to fill in up to graduating from HS which is well over 10 years ago so there was no way for me to remember..  I just rounded out and used only the year but that didn't work... They will need the mo/yr date history so try to connect them as best as you can.  If there is a gap between periods that you took break, write unemployed for that time gap. They will most likely not follow up with any of that old information but they want to see a completed form and somewhat matching info that we put for pre employment.

On the other end, medical is very straightforward. It's basically your regular annual checkups all bunched in one (physical, vision, hearing) and if you're good and can completely fill out your forms without any questionable things such as completely different employment history or something, you should be fine. Don't sweat it because the only sweat you should only have is possibly from all the waiting, lol.
 

Good luck!

 

 

[alexx]

18 minutes ago, TurtleTA said:

Hello Everyone,

I am happy to anounce I am going into the May 22nd class after a year long wait of being put back on the list. I was list # 30xx. If anyone has any questions about the process, feel free to ask.

 

For the rest of the community, my question is any reccomendations on pants, shirts, boots and backpacks? Any particular brand or style? Thank you in advance.

Congrats! I'll be there!

Any dark blue pants, light blue shirt is fine and boots, shoes.. Basically business attire with mta colors. I think we will be getting a set of clothes eventually so don't buy too much! It's basically just something we need to wear until we get our stuff which takes some time.  Just no backpack with too many straps and no wheels! I just got everyones regular recommendation for the newbie starter backpack aka KAKA backpack.

[Lov3 qu33n]

28 minutes ago, alexx said:

Yes, follow the email, you will need to fill everything out.. Do not fill in anything you do not know because from my experience, you will take longer than having it not filled in and redo everything there. Make sure everything is close to same as what you had filled during pre employment. If it is very off, i'm sure you will be questioned and have problems arise.

I suggest leaving spaces out that you are unsure of and/or having multiple copies because if you don't do it properly, you will have to fix or redo it.. I spent a lot of time fixing and refilling it out there because of the employment and education histories..

It says to fill in up to graduating from HS which is well over 10 years ago so there was no way for me to remember..  I just rounded out and used only the year but that didn't work... They will need the mo/yr date history so try to connect them as best as you can.  If there is a gap between periods that you took break, write unemployed for that time gap. They will most likely not follow up with any of that old information but they want to see a completed form and somewhat matching info that we put for pre employment.

On the other end, medical is very straightforward. It's basically your regular annual checkups all bunched in one (physical, vision, hearing) and if you're good and can completely fill out your forms without any questionable things such as completely different employment history or something, you should be fine. Don't sweat it because the only sweat you should only have is possibly from all the waiting, lol.
 

Good luck!

 

 

Thank you 🙌🏽.  Got money order and filled forms and have an extra copy just in case. Lol. I couldn’t find my original GED I remember I came here about a month ago when I was going to do the drug test and almost didn’t go because I couldn’t find it. Thank you to the person who told me to go because luckily they didn’t need it on that date. I’m applied for a new one and it arrived about a week ago 😮‍💨😊

[Elvis Gonzalez]

17 minutes ago, Lov3 qu33n said:

Thank you 🙌🏽.  Got money order and filled forms and have an extra copy just in case. Lol. I couldn’t find my original GED I remember I came here about a month ago when I was going to do the drug test and almost didn’t go because I couldn’t find it. Thank you to the person who told me to go because luckily they didn’t need it on that date. I’m applied for a new one and it arrived about a week ago 😮‍💨😊

What the forms consist of just to have an idea?

[tsanchez2828]

Congrats to everyone making it for the May 22nd class! See ya there....my name is Ted btw don't mind meeting any of y'all during class.

[Lov3 qu33n]

50 minutes ago, Elvis Gonzalez said:

What the forms consist of just to have an idea?

It’s employment documents like the I-9 and new hire forms. They ask for your previous employers again, previous addresses, if you were ever arrested things like that. 

[Mohamed]

Also it was mentioned that the A division is about 6 weeks of training. What about B division, how long is training? Thank you 

[Comrade96]

10 minutes ago, Mohamed said:

Also it was mentioned that the A division is about 6 weeks of training. What about B division, how long is training? Thank you 

about 8 or so

[Jsalcedo718]

8 hours ago, alexx said:

Yes, follow the email, you will need to fill everything out.. Do not fill in anything you do not know because from my experience, you will take longer than having it not filled in and redo everything there. Make sure everything is close to same as what you had filled during pre employment. If it is very off, i'm sure you will be questioned and have problems arise.

I suggest leaving spaces out that you are unsure of and/or having multiple copies because if you don't do it properly, you will have to fix or redo it.. I spent a lot of time fixing and refilling it out there because of the employment and education histories..

It says to fill in up to graduating from HS which is well over 10 years ago so there was no way for me to remember..  I just rounded out and used only the year but that didn't work... They will need the mo/yr date history so try to connect them as best as you can.  If there is a gap between periods that you took break, write unemployed for that time gap. They will most likely not follow up with any of that old information but they want to see a completed form and somewhat matching info that we put for pre employment.

On the other end, medical is very straightforward. It's basically your regular annual checkups all bunched in one (physical, vision, hearing) and if you're good and can completely fill out your forms without any questionable things such as completely different employment history or something, you should be fine. Don't sweat it because the only sweat you should only have is possibly from all the waiting, lol.
 

Good luck!

 

 

Yea, what I've done in the past is Take pics of each page I filled out just incase, that way I can just pull it up on my phone if I ever have to re-do anything. One thing about MTA, their paper work is very repetitive. Like you said, they're very meticulous with details, so anything that's off, they'll notice it and make you do it all over again until u get it correct. Alot of ppl get confused and think they're only supposed to write in their jobs, but they also have to fill in anytime they're unemployed, even if it was just for a month. Any gaps need to be filled in with something.

[Milano]

8 hours ago, Darrius said:

 

 

For all of you just getting into the class, welcome. There's going to be times ahead where the schedule and the things expected of you are going to make you question your decision. Push through. This is worth it. I'm 9 months in, and it gets better, then it gets worse again, then it gets even more better... Stick with it. This is a great place to be.

 

Also, reach out to the union as much as you need. If you guys could see my call log with my union rep of choice, you would think I'm crazy. 9 months and probably at least 50 phone calls. I trust my rep to give me the correct answers on things. Make meetings if you can, as well. There's a lot more to this job and the potential of this job then just getting a paycheck at $25 an hour to start. Be involved with your union if you can attend the meetings. This is a lifestyle and a culture and an endless sea of possibility if you're active and engaged in the processes of what makes this whole thing function.

[alexx]

I have a question if anyone could answer,

58 minutes ago, Milano said:

 

For all of you just getting into the class, welcome. There's going to be times ahead where the schedule and the things expected of you are going to make you question your decision. Push through. This is worth it. I'm 9 months in, and it gets better, then it gets worse again, then it gets even more better... Stick with it. This is a great place to be.

 

Also, reach out to the union as much as you need. If you guys could see my call log with my union rep of choice, you would think I'm crazy. 9 months and probably at least 50 phone calls. I trust my rep to give me the correct answers on things. Make meetings if you can, as well. There's a lot more to this job and the potential of this job then just getting a paycheck at $25 an hour to start. Be involved with your union if you can attend the meetings. This is a lifestyle and a culture and an endless sea of possibility if you're active and engaged in the processes of what makes this whole thing function.

Hello, I would like to ask, is the union mandatory or we have a choice? If we have a choice, I don't think i'll be joining until after probation.

What exactly is the union good for? What did you personally use it for with all those calls? What type of help have you been asking/getting if you don't mind me asking. Seems definitely worthwhile for you with the amount of communication you had with them but I would like to know more to maybe see if it suits me better than I think.  I was told by a multiple people to not join during probation because union only helps with issues around disagreements with management. The main part is fighting for wages but a few years ago I think, regardless if you're a member or not, the fight applies to everyone and not only members, basically a free pass, lol.

If you are not one to get in trouble with management and get along with people and hard working, do your job, good worker, you don't need a union.  During probation, supervisor can still "make up" something and fire you if they want and union can't help you.

Please nobody take this post by any means to not join but do make sure you look into it and see if it suits you. At the end, after probation, I will surely join . One big happy family should stick together. Not to be negative or anything but the last thing i'd want to see is someone be paying for it and then not successfully complete probation and the union can't protect and do anything for then. Just something to keep in mind.

 

[Milano]

51 minutes ago, alexx said:

I have a question if anyone could answer,

Hello, I would like to ask, is the union mandatory or we have a choice? If we have a choice, I don't think i'll be joining until after probation.

What exactly is the union good for? What did you personally use it for with all those calls? What type of help have you been asking/getting if you don't mind me asking. Seems definitely worthwhile for you with the amount of communication you had with them but I would like to know more to maybe see if it suits me better than I think.  I was told by a multiple people to not join during probation because union only helps with issues around disagreements with management. The main part is fighting for wages but a few years ago I think, regardless if you're a member or not, the fight applies to everyone and not only members, basically a free pass, lol.

If you are not one to get in trouble with management and get along with people and hard working, do your job, good worker, you don't need a union.  During probation, supervisor can still "make up" something and fire you if they want and union can't help you.

Please nobody take this post by any means to not join but do make sure you look into it and see if it suits you. At the end, after probation, I will surely join . One big happy family should stick together. Not to be negative or anything but the last thing i'd want to see is someone be paying for it and then not successfully complete probation and the union can't protect and do anything for then. Just something to keep in mind.

 

You're told wrong by people, and you can't not be a member of TWU100 and work for NYCT afaik. This whole thing that the union is not for probationaries is false and it's the first thing the union will tell you when you meet them on day 2. Apparently - this is a popular thing people get told when they start here. It's not true. They can absolutely help you not get fired, but it's a bit more of a difficult battle.

 

Regardless of how good your work ethic and luck is, you're going to have run-ins with supervision. 

You're going to write documents about incidents that occur on your train, and the union will help you navigate those situations so you don't write something dumb that can be used against you later.

You're going to have questions about benefits and time off and the union will help you understand that.

You might sit in a broken chair your 3rd week in and bang your head - they'll help you with the paperwork and hospital visit and everything that comes with that.

You're going to be late one day and a good union rep will help you with that. (You're allowed 2 lates and terminated on the 3rd during probation).

You're going to have rude or downright nasty supervisors and the union will help you with that.

You're going to have unsafe situations, assaults (God forbid) and other things to deal with, and the union will help you with that.

You'll need to book off for a funeral one day and the union can help you figure that out. 

Or maybe simply you'll forget your keys one day and a union rep will meet you with a set.

We're out 9 months and my class has dealt with all these issues.

Also, if you select the most popular plan for medical, the dental and vision is through the union only.

They also arrange family day and a lot of other activities every year.

Hope this helps.

Edited May 12, 2023 by Milano

[Jsalcedo718]

3 hours ago, alexx said:

I have a question if anyone could answer,

Hello, I would like to ask, is the union mandatory or we have a choice? If we have a choice, I don't think i'll be joining until after probation.

What exactly is the union good for? What did you personally use it for with all those calls? What type of help have you been asking/getting if you don't mind me asking. Seems definitely worthwhile for you with the amount of communication you had with them but I would like to know more to maybe see if it suits me better than I think.  I was told by a multiple people to not join during probation because union only helps with issues around disagreements with management. The main part is fighting for wages but a few years ago I think, regardless if you're a member or not, the fight applies to everyone and not only members, basically a free pass, lol.

If you are not one to get in trouble with management and get along with people and hard working, do your job, good worker, you don't need a union.  During probation, supervisor can still "make up" something and fire you if they want and union can't help you.

Please nobody take this post by any means to not join but do make sure you look into it and see if it suits you. At the end, after probation, I will surely join . One big happy family should stick together. Not to be negative or anything but the last thing i'd want to see is someone be paying for it and then not successfully complete probation and the union can't protect and do anything for then. Just something to keep in mind.

 

What Milano said is all correct. Don't let day crew room lawyers fill your head with nonsense. 9/10 mistakes and accidents are more likely to occur while on probation. Also, like Milano said...without the union, u waive having dental and vision insurance through them. Unless you're going to get your own. U cant attend meetings to express your grievances on the job or new information that the union may want to relay to the workforce. Also...if you say you want to join after probation, you're going to owe them a years worth of back pay. They'll have u as NOT in good standing and in arrears. Everytime they fight for raises, uniforms, boots, etc. They're also fighting for you, even though you're not paying. So they see that as them working for u for free, and eventually they'll make u pay for it, when God forbid u need them for something, they'll deny helping u until u pay what u owe. It's happened to some ppl who tried to opt out. While some of us think the union s*cks, there's also its benefits.

[DaVon]

@Milano and @Jsalcedo718Very well said. First and foremost MTA “IS” a city UNION job. Seniority, benefits, raises, safe working conditions, job security are all promoted by the UNION!!! MTA is NOT a private sector position and for a newbie to have that thought that the Union doesn’t do anything for MTA union employees, wow!!! People become city employees because city jobs are unionized jobs. Milano and Jsalcedo718 thank you both for educating these newbies about TWU100. Forgot to mention that nice stipend conductors receive to purchase their uniforms and foot wear. Who do the newbies think negotiated that??? 

[Mohamed]

I'm here waiting to get in. Anyone waiting? About 15 people here already 

[alexx]

5 hours ago, Milano said:

You're told wrong by people, and you can't not be a member of TWU100 and work for NYCT afaik. This whole thing that the union is not for probationaries is false and it's the first thing the union will tell you when you meet them on day 2. Apparently - this is a popular thing people get told when they start here. It's not true. They can absolutely help you not get fired, but it's a bit more of a difficult battle.

 

Regardless of how good your work ethic and luck is, you're going to have run-ins with supervision. 

You're going to write documents about incidents that occur on your train, and the union will help you navigate those situations so you don't write something dumb that can be used against you later.

You're going to have questions about benefits and time off and the union will help you understand that.

You might sit in a broken chair your 3rd week in and bang your head - they'll help you with the paperwork and hospital visit and everything that comes with that.

You're going to be late one day and a good union rep will help you with that. (You're allowed 2 lates and terminated on the 3rd during probation).

You're going to have rude or downright nasty supervisors and the union will help you with that.

You're going to have unsafe situations, assaults (God forbid) and other things to deal with, and the union will help you with that.

You'll need to book off for a funeral one day and the union can help you figure that out. 

Or maybe simply you'll forget your keys one day and a union rep will meet you with a set.

We're out 9 months and my class has dealt with all these issues.

Also, if you select the most popular plan for medical, the dental and vision is through the union only.

They also arrange family day and a lot of other activities every year.

Hope this helps.

 

2 hours ago, Jsalcedo718 said:

What Milano said is all correct. Don't let day crew room lawyers fill your head with nonsense. 9/10 mistakes and accidents are more likely to occur while on probation. Also, like Milano said...without the union, u waive having dental and vision insurance through them. Unless you're going to get your own. U cant attend meetings to express your grievances on the job or new information that the union may want to relay to the workforce. Also...if you say you want to join after probation, you're going to owe them a years worth of back pay. They'll have u as NOT in good standing and in arrears. Everytime they fight for raises, uniforms, boots, etc. They're also fighting for you, even though you're not paying. So they see that as them working for u for free, and eventually they'll make u pay for it, when God forbid u need them for something, they'll deny helping u until u pay what u owe. It's happened to some ppl who tried to opt out. While some of us think the union s*cks, there's also its benefits.

 

Thanks for the insight, this helps a lot! Haha, yeah, the backroom lawyers are all friends but not the same unions but their own in their fields.. Only question I have, not that it changes anything as I am set into joining about probation now, if someone were to join later and not right away, they are still owed the previous term since joining? If that is so, that is a 100% no brainer to join from the get go, imo!

 

[Jsalcedo718]

27 minutes ago, alexx said:

 

 

Thanks for the insight, this helps a lot! Haha, yeah, the backroom lawyers are all friends but not the same unions but their own in their fields.. Only question I have, not that it changes anything as I am set into joining about probation now, if someone were to join later and not right away, they are still owed the previous term since joining? If that is so, that is a 100% no brainer to join from the get go, imo!

 

Yes. U will owe them "Dues" from the moment you joined MTA. Coming into the NYCT is like a package deal with TWU100. Like I mentioned before...if u don't want to be a part of the union, u won't have Dental, Vision and other perks that come with the union. U can definitely get you're own, but most likely at a higher rate than what the union is offering. And many times God forbid u get in trouble, and you have to go down to 2 broadway for a hearing, more than likely they're gonna want to speak to a Union Rep cause the ppl down there don't speak to us directly. All the communications usually go through a Union Rep, and the Union passes the info down to us. We dont even See the arbitrators/those doing the hearing, especially after Covid. I heard though, that most recently they've been doing it remotely.

[alexx]

1 hour ago, Jsalcedo718 said:

Yes. U will owe them "Dues" from the moment you joined MTA. Coming into the NYCT is like a package deal with TWU100. Like I mentioned before...if u don't want to be a part of the union, u won't have Dental, Vision and other perks that come with the union. U can definitely get you're own, but most likely at a higher rate than what the union is offering. And many times God forbid u get in trouble, and you have to go down to 2 broadway for a hearing, more than likely they're gonna want to speak to a Union Rep cause the ppl down there don't speak to us directly. All the communications usually go through a Union Rep, and the Union passes the info down to us. We dont even See the arbitrators/those doing the hearing, especially after Covid. I heard though, that most recently they've been doing it remotely.

Yeah, I'm set on surely joining from the start now, lol.. I can care less for the dental and vision and all that jazz since I barely go to any doctors but of course it's good to have all that insurance, god forbid... TWU100 definitely getting more praise I see as helpful and good relation family all around, from the time you join, compare to other unions. I hear about other type of unions that doesn't seem to have much participation in a solid relationship but rather just be a part of the "same" group protesting for it's employee rights which a lot of people are just a part of, rather than involved in.

It makes absolutely no sense for anyone to "not join" if you will owe "dues" from the moment you join and it accumulates for when you do join.  
 

[ThaVision107]

I just got my email yesterday with my conditional offer. I have to go in on Monday for another medical test. Am I going to have to do another piss test even though I did one a little over a month ago when I went in the first time for medical?

[tsanchez2828]

1 minute ago, ThaVision107 said:

I just got my email yesterday with my conditional offer. I have to go in on Monday for another medical test. Am I going to have to do another piss test even though I did one a little over a month ago when I went in the first time for medical?

You will take another piss test but not for drugs,they wanna test your glucose/sugar I believe it was,they will give u a little Dixie cup this time.

[Lov3 qu33n]

7 minutes ago, tsanchez2828 said:

You will take another piss test but not for drugs,they wanna test your glucose/sugar I believe it was,they will give u a little Dixie cup this time.

Sure do. Just did mine and ha ha jokes on me because my sugar was high. They did a finger stick 😂too. 

[Milano]

2 hours ago, alexx said:

 

 

Thanks for the insight, this helps a lot! Haha, yeah, the backroom lawyers are all friends but not the same unions but their own in their fields.. Only question I have, not that it changes anything as I am set into joining about probation now, if someone were to join later and not right away, they are still owed the previous term since joining? If that is so, that is a 100% no brainer to join from the get go, imo!

 

I understand. There are, unfortunately, a lot of unions out there who suck. My wife was part of a hospital union that was terrible. I had friends in a teamsters union that was equally bad. Not all unions are alike.

Ours has it's own share of problems and infighting - but it's certainly still worth it. Unions as huge as ours, with people as diverse as you can find in a place like NYC - it's always going to be an uphill battle to try to please everyone. 

We have 24/7 representation here, there's always a rep on duty ready to answer questions. Even the higher ups such as vice presidents and chairpersons and vice chairs are easily available.

The biggest complaint I hear from other unions - they have no reps or the rep wasn't able to get back to them in a timely fashion or the rep did a bad job representing them.... I haven't had this issue here. Reps are people, tho - and I'm sure some are not as good as others.

 We do a lot of complaining around here - but we have a lot to be grateful for, as well. As a new person you'll see that it's obvious some of our coworkers been here so long they've forgotten what it's like to be in a private sector job without a union. They complain about things that make this extremely obvious - and those are the biggest smack talkers. They're usually not wrong tho!! You damn right someone needs to pay me for the 4 minutes it took to walk over to the office and sign out!! 😁

[Lov3 qu33n]

I’d love a little insight please guys. I just got done and was placed on medical hold. I have to go to my endocrinologist and have him fill the form out but then I gotta do some sleep study also but I’m sooooo lost. They guy said he’s “concerned” because my neck circumference is supposed to be 16 and mine is 16.1 so apparently that puts me at great risk for sleep apnea. What????? 

[Comrade96]

50 minutes ago, Lov3 qu33n said:

I’d love a little insight please guys. I just got done and was placed on medical hold. I have to go to my endocrinologist and have him fill the form out but then I gotta do some sleep study also but I’m sooooo lost. They guy said he’s “concerned” because my neck circumference is supposed to be 16 and mine is 16.1 so apparently that puts me at great risk for sleep apnea. What????? 

you can thank previous incidents on transit for their zealous search of sleep apnea, hopefully you can get it done within 3 months, you need to see a sleep doctor

[alexx]

2 hours ago, Lov3 qu33n said:

I’d love a little insight please guys. I just got done and was placed on medical hold. I have to go to my endocrinologist and have him fill the form out but then I gotta do some sleep study also but I’m sooooo lost. They guy said he’s “concerned” because my neck circumference is supposed to be 16 and mine is 16.1 so apparently that puts me at great risk for sleep apnea. What????? 

Sorry to hear, wow, by .1 inch?!?   I would suggest you get that done asap before the list expires next year.. I see people previously going back with the sleep study and being immediately pushed to the front as priority.. Did you ask them to double check if you'll be priority once you finish for the soonest class if any becomes available? Good luck and hope you can get it fix and make it in time !