Last Updated: August 2023 AAR.org/time-off-policies Railroad employees receive substantial paid time off each year and generous paid sick leave benefits.
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For years, freight rail workers weren't allowed to call in sick the morning of their shift. They could, however, get approval weeks in advance to take paid personal days. CSX was the first to grant paid sick days to several of its unions and has now granted sick days to 61% of its 17,089 unionized employees.
Any exodus of workers would only exacerbate staffing shortages brought on by railroads laying off around 30 percent of their workforce over the past six years. That, in turn, has led to exhausted workers and persistent delays and cancellations when demand for shipped products spiked.
How much time do train conductors spend away from home? A better quality of life. This is especially true for conductors who spend, on average, 89 days away from home each year. Freight railroad management is reimagining the conductor's role.
Railroad workers have one of the most dangerous jobs in the United States. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in fact, railroad employees are approximately twice as likely to die on the job as the average American worker.
The Transport Workers Union of America (TWU), AFL-CIO represents more than 150,000 members across the airline, railroad, and transit, university, utility and service sectors.
BNSF Railway is most highly rated for Compensation and benefits and Union Pacific is most highly rated for Compensation and benefits. Learn more, read reviews and see open jobs.
In 2022, the average monthly Railroad Retirement Board benefit for retired rail employees was $3,210 ($4,020 for career railroad employees). The average monthly Social Security retirement benefit was about $1,776 in December 2022.
The Working Day: Being a train driver involves erratic train driver shift pattern and Conditions of Service which vary from one TOC to another. In theory, turn lengths can vary between about five and eleven hours but in practice most come in at around seven to ten hours.
For years, freight rail workers weren't allowed to call in sick the morning of their shift. They could, however, get approval weeks in advance to take paid personal days. CSX was the first to grant paid sick days to several of its unions and has now granted sick days to 61% of its 17,089 unionized employees.
U.S. employment in rail transportationAt the same time, working conditions for the employees remaining at these railroads have deteriorated. “Even the good pay and pensions aren't worth it anymore, because they're being so overworked,” said Schuhrke.
The Central Pacific Railroad, which was tasked with constructing the western half of the Transcontinental Railroad, began hiring Chinese workers in 1864 after facing a labor shortage that jeopardized the railroad's completion.