Exam 8600 Track Worker 8600 Hiring Process

[Rj617]

28 minutes ago, kinks007 said:

Does anyone know the starting pay for the track worker Postion ?

24.77 is starting.. Night differential is a little over 1.00 more if you work overnight. But you can bid for a dual rate track worker and make specialist pay scale when needed. After dual rate you can bid for a specialist position permanently.

[Zoey]

2 hours ago, bimmer4me said:

Worst case scenario here...what is the 1 in 3 rule and when does that letter generally come out? Not super worried but you never know.

If you were never employed by the I wouldn't worry about it. People who received this letter never seemed to get out of the drug testing phase but its definitely something to think about. Lets not scare anyone lol

Edited November 19, 2021 by Zoey

[kinks007]

4 hours ago, Rj617 said:

24.77 is starting.. Night differential is a little over 1.00 more if you work overnight. But you can bid for a dual rate track worker and make specialist pay scale when needed. After dual rate you can bid for a specialist position permanently.

Thank you not bad 

[Throwingaway000]

Hello all, 

I'm lower 1000s on the list, completed the pre employment packet, and I received this email Thu.

 

Quote

MTA New York City Transit is considering you for a position as a Track Worker Exam 8600 and invites you to our facility at MTA 180 Livingston street (between Smith and Hoyt Streets), 5th floor etc etc etc....

the email asks to bring proof of 2 vax, and drug screen from a lab. There's just no possible way to get that done from when I received the email on Thursday, to Monday morning . 

Is this the first piss test, or is this a meet and greet to collect ss card, diploma, etc... ?  Jeans and a Polo shirt should be fine I assume? 

 

any advice would be helpful, appreciate it, thanks.

[TraDon]

49 minutes ago, Throwingaway000 said:

Hello all, 

I'm lower 1000s on the list, completed the pre employment packet, and I received this email Thu.

 

the email asks to bring proof of 2 vax, and drug screen from a lab. There's just no possible way to get that done from when I received the email on Thursday, to Monday morning . 

Is this the first piss test, or is this a meet and greet to collect ss card, diploma, etc... ?  Jeans and a Polo shirt should be fine I assume? 

 

any advice would be helpful, appreciate it, thanks.

It is the drug test. You do not have to get a drug test somewhere else and then bring the results to them. You will be drug tested there at 180 Livingston. You will bring in your ID, SS card, etc. along with the completed forms that they asked you to email back to them. You can dress up if you want but when I was there I saw people in sweats or jeans as well as people in business suits. Treat it as business casual (whatever that means to you). I keep seeing vaccinations are required and you need to be 2 weeks out from your last shot (2nd if Moderna or Pfizer/1st if J&J) before you start work, should you be offered the job.

[Djoe]

I'm in the mid 900s and haven't heard anything after completing the PE packet does that mean I was already disqualified for employment?

[Queensqueens111]

On 11/18/2021 at 7:11 PM, bimmer4me said:

Some questions. In regards to my pay question. How long does it take to reach top pay for this position? Is it the normal 5/6 years ?

 

Yes have to complete 5 years. So start of 6th year is top pay.

[Zoey]

On 11/20/2021 at 5:29 PM, Djoe said:

I'm in the mid 900s and haven't heard anything after completing the PE packet does that mean I was already disqualified for employment?

Have you received any further contact?

[Djoe]

No further contact was received.

[Stephen]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Remember

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

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

Edited December 14, 2021 by Stephen

[premoCASINO718]

On 12/14/2021 at 7:59 AM, Stephen said:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Remember

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

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

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

[Stephen]

2 hours ago, premoCASINO718 said:

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

PM'd you back.

[Kidbx175]

Question for all the new track workers coming out of class. Did they say you have to stay in your x picks until next pick or will they eventually tell you you have have to get something from a bid sheet?

[Jonsg]

How long after they send you a canvas notice do they contact you for your drug test and possible job offer? If i was sent the canvas email and filled out the packet in October, should i have gone to the next step already? If i have not been contacted since filling out the canvas packet, have they passed over me for the job?

[Rj617]

12 hours ago, Kidbx175 said:

Question for all the new track workers coming out of class. Did they say you have to stay in your x picks until next pick or will they eventually tell you you have have to get something from a bid sheet?

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

[kinks007]

How do we contact MTA to let them know our email and phone number has changed ?

[Kidbx175]

8 hours ago, Rj617 said:

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

Ok thank you. 

[TraDon]

15 hours ago, kinks007 said:

How do we contact MTA to let them know our email and phone number has changed ?

Try emailing the following in HR:

RTOEmploymentOperations@nyct.com

ecmro@nyct.com

Michelle.Rivera-Vargas@nyct.com

Olha.nyahay@nyct.com

Include the position, exam number, your list number for that exam, the last 4 digits of your SS number and the changes to your contact information. 

[Stephen]

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

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

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

@ Everyone with X jobs

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

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

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

Remember two things with the bid sheets

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Edited December 23, 2021 by Stephen

[dman1455]

30 minutes ago, Stephen said:

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

@ Everyone with X jobs

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

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

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

Remember two things with the bid sheets

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

I need that fleet bid to come out already 👀👀

[Stephen]

8 minutes ago, dman1455 said:

I need that fleet bid to come out already 👀👀

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

Edited December 23, 2021 by Stephen

[Rj617]

20 hours ago, Stephen said:

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

@ Everyone with X jobs

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

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

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

Remember two things with the bid sheets

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

[Stephen]

3 hours ago, Rj617 said:

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

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

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

Happy Holidays !

[Rj617]

21 minutes ago, Stephen said:

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

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

Happy Holidays !

I've heard different things as to a whole bunch of issues behind the bids and picks. There is definitely alot of confusion with the last switch over last week. Some gangs have no supervisor and some supervisors have no gang. Who knows what's going to happen as far as upcoming bids and picks. There is also another class coming in and they are being placed all over. I'll definitely keep my eyes open for those sheets in headquarters and the union posts. Thanks. Have a happy and safe holiday.  Be safe out on those tracks.

[Dinero]

Hi,

I’m a current NYCT employee and I was think about switch Departments. I have some questions for any current track workers. How many people are assigned to a gang?  Is OT Mandatory or is it Voluntary? Are you force to work doubles (ex.If someone calls out)? Are there a lot of locations to pick from in Brooklyn?