Applicant advise requested

[txschwanman]

Hey guys,

New here. Have a situation I need some advise with. I worked for UP for 2 months before I was terminated. I was training in the yard when the conductor had me couple some cars together. Our manager had pulled up and was watching. Long story short I was let go for violating a safety procedure. My question is in moving forward is there any chance of another railroad hiring me? I have my application in now for a position and want to know how best to disclose this incident? I can go into further details I just wanted to get the general question out first. Thanks in advance

Cw

 

[Bob]

In my limited experience, when you apply for a railroad they will ask if you've worked for any other railroads, and if so, ask about your record.

The only correct answer is to be totally honest about the situation. If you're not, and get caught lying, you'll most likely be immediately terminated. When they ask about background, they're usually looking for stuff like "Yeah, I was fired for drinking on duty" or "Repeated rules violations" etc. What they'd think of your situation is hard to say. Hopefully they'll be understanding.

As for specifics, I don't know that they're really going to help much here. You mentioned you were fired for a safety violation. That's going to be an issue, and the only question is how much of an issue. The one person who can make that call is the person who's hiring you. The rest of us can armchair quarterback it to death, but the bottom line is that the manager and/or supervisors are the only ones who matter. Assuming it's a reasonable mistake for a trainee and not "He didn't like me holding a whiskey bottle in one hand while connecting the air with the other" (and I'm sure it's not), then it's going to be a judgement call, and those are hard to predict.

I will say that violating any safety rule will probably put you at a bit of a disadvantage. Be courtesous, polite, state the facts, admit fault if applicable, and don't blame the manager or anyone else. "If he hadn't pulled up, I wouldn't have been fired" isn't the correct approach. Something along the lines of "I had just begun training on that actitivity and wasn't aware of the rule", or "Being new on the job, I made a momentary lapse in judgement" would probably work better.

 

[RCH]

It sounds like you were fired within the trial period before you were promoted and therefore not protected by the UTU. Is that right? It may be that UP decided to minimize their risk by getting rid of you while they could do it without a hassle.

When this issue comes up in the interview, it's best to disclose what you know about it. I think there should be some consideration given since this occurred during your training or probationary period. In my mind, whatever it is you did is something that can be corrected with training, so if the railroad you're applying for understands that, the fact that you got hired by UP might work in your favor. Railroads tend to be selective, so the fact that you passed UP's vetting process says something about you.

If you do get hired by another railroad, make sure you've learned from your previous training and your mistakes. Nearly everything you learned at UP will apply to your next employer, so use that to your advantage. You'll never be disciplined, ridiculed or terminated for following the rules, so learn them and follow them. Good luck.

 

[txschwanman]

Ok Guys thanks for the replies. I had already planned to be honest about the past. I guess my main concern is the online application asks about previous work on the railroad, and if you were terminated/laid off etc. I put terminated and Im hoping that it doesnt automatically reject my application based on this criteria. I guess I will find out.

Thank you,
CW

 

[RCH]

It's not common to be terminated from a railroad, but you aren't the first one so don't sweat it. If you can get to an interview, you should be fine.

 

[QUAID580]

Hey guys,

New here. Have a situation I need some advise with. I worked for UP for 2 months before I was terminated. I was training in the yard when the conductor had me couple some cars together. Our manager had pulled up and was watching. Long story short I was let go for violating a safety procedure. My question is in moving forward is there any chance of another railroad hiring me? I have my application in now for a position and want to know how best to disclose this incident? I can go into further details I just wanted to get the general question out first. Thanks in advance

Cw

This is late i know but as a new conductor with BNSF i know for a fact that 1 person in my class has worked for CSX and U.P. He was still given a job and we all marked up recently. So you will never know unless you try.