A question about seniority rosters

[Anonymous]

Must be nice Ed to move so fast, I just spoke with annother conductor that is on the bottom of a preferred pool and he has 35 yrs in................On a side note, I got on a motor that had canned water, in 12oz pop cans. Guess what it said on it............none other than PTRA. Small world, uh, I mean small railworld.
Ken

[edblysard]

Hi Rich,
Your seniority is based on your hire date, those hired first have more.
If you and I both worked for the same railroad, and we both bid on the same job, but I had hired on before you, I would get first consideration for the job.
The longer your there, the better job you can hold.
New guys almost always have to work the extra board, because they have no seniority to hold a regular scheduled job.
As time progresses, and older employees retire or die, everyone moves "up" the roster a little, and this allows the younger guys to bid on other, better jobs.
I work for a switching/terminal road, and after seven years, I am about half way up the roster.
Stay Frosty,
Ed

[rich747us]

In all my years as a railfan (I've been one since I was 4, I'm 22 now), I've heard the term 'seniority roster' thrown around quite a bit. What exactly is a seniority roster? I've read lots of stories about conductors and engineers striving to get off the extra board and on the seniority roster, but I'm curious as to how this works. Is there a certian ammount of time one must be on the extra board before establishing a seniority date, or is there anothe way one establishes seniority? I hope to get a job as a conductor when I get out of the military in a couple of years, and I'm wondering if there's anything I should know about how seniority works beforehand. Thanks in advance for any of your input!

-Rich