I was at a site after a crane collapsed seriously injuring 3 people including one guy who took a cable to the face and, as far as I know, never regained use of his eye. The crane operator survived without injury. He’s probably still making picks despite being a proximate cause for 3 of his friends’ permanent life altering injuries. So in a sense they do have crushing expectations placed on them, except these expectations actually crush someone to death sometimes.
I guess I should have worded ir differently. My problem is that responsibilities are not well defined, expectations are vague and fluid, and this basically makes it impossible to know if you're doing well or not. The requirements of the crane job are much more clear and don't have the same oppressive outcomes. And yes, software bugs can still ruin people's lives or kill them too.
"Rail employees are provided with significant time off. Generally, train crew employees have over three to four weeks of paid vacation and over 10 personal leave days. Depending on craft and seniority, these numbers can extend to five weeks of vacation in addition to 14 paid holidays and/or paid leave days,” BNSF told CNBC. “The number of Personal Leave Days was increased by 25% this year which makes it easier for employees to take time off.”
"A crucial issue in the dispute is a points-based attendance policy adopted by some of the largest carriers earlier this year. Those policies penalize workers, up to termination, for going to routine doctor’s visits or attending to family emergencies. Conductors and engineers say that they can be on call for 14 consecutive days without a break and that they do not receive a single sick day, paid or unpaid.
“All we’re asking is folks to be able to go to routine doctor’s visits without pay, but they have refused to accept our proposals,” Dennis Pierce, president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) said before the deal was struck. “The average American would not know that we get fired for going to the doctor. This one thing has our members most enraged. We have guys who were punished for taking time off for a heart attack and covid. It’s inhumane.”"
So how do they get around federal FMLA requirements to fire people over the medical time?
Sign me up! A friend of a friend was a diesel electric mechanic making $85k starting 14 years ago, and no college cost. It took me 8 or more years and a masters to hit that comp as a dev. My company manages some of the rail road 401ks and they are highly compensated. And they're unionized, unlike devs, which I see as a plus.
FMLA is not a get out of jail free card. You don't get paid, it has strict requirements, and has an approval process.
Ahh yes the famous friend that "makes all this money". Go ahead, sign up. No one is stopping you. "I know a guy who made billions in crypto!" Yea, we all do.
People lie like crazy about wages. The numbers don't.
> My company manages some of the rail road 401ks and they are highly compensated. And they're unionized, unlike devs, which I see as a plus.
Sure. Overtime pay is a great. Being away from family all the time, working odd hours, yea, if you can handle it, go for it, it can be rewarding for a certain type of person. But remember - OT goes by seniority in the union.
For me? I'll be paid more, for way less hours, with way more benefits, remote work, etc. But if you don't want that, go ahead. Some people do better in those jobs.
That's diesel service. It's half of being a diesel electric mechanic. Of course that number is lower because of all the regular diesel mechanics dragging it down.
"For me? I'll be paid more, for way less hours, with way more benefits, remote work, etc."
Go ahead, lord over us how much better you are. I'll live in the real world where the median dev salary is $110k, the work is boring, the company screws you over, and the boss is an asshole.
But yeah they’re also on call sometimes.