National Railroad Passenger Corp - Amtrak Workplace Bullying and Harassment from Amtrak Managers and Supervisors.

Henry Your and Idiot!!! Thats why we all hate you. Dumb enough to actually leave your name. 

Hope your BUTT gets canned!

Recenly spoke to one of the supervisiors in NY and she said that they were actively going after Janice R for being as dirty as dirt. Hopefully she's either retired or fired by now, haven't seen her around.

Don't get me wrong, JR is a good manager for Amtrak. If it was any other company she would be in prision by now.

I have worked at Amtrak for a number of years. Originally started in OBS as an LSA-D in the early 2000's and eventually on to other departments in differents locations. What I simply do not understand is how NY Crew Base continues to operate the way it does. I dropped by the NY crew base a few years back and saw that some of the biggest thieves that were formally onboard (TA/LSA/TS/CHIEF) were permoted to  Superintendant, Manager and Supervisor. All we would hear about  from 1000 miles away is how one Superintendant, Manager and Supervisor in NY was caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Seems to be the NY thing.

Thanks for sharing the link.

The most serious problem at Amtrak is poor management. This isn’t a new problem. This has dogged Amtrak from the very beginning. There is no shortage of good, hard working employees at Amtrak both in the lower decks and in management. But the management system at Amtrak is overly centralized, with decisions often made by people miles away from the incident with limited information of the problems. Often when there is a problem the manager who’s department is responsible for the problem isn’t held accountable.

A conductor in Chicago can’t open an empty car with a train overflowing with passengers without calling a supervisor back east first. But first they have to track down the right supervisor who may have left work for the day. 

Just replacing Amtrak management won’t fix the problems at Amtrak because the same management and management culture will remain as it always has over the years with managers before them.

What Amtrak needs is a major shake up of its management Supervisors to Superintendants. The best way to do this is to replace much of Amtrak middle management with a successful rail passenger railroad taking over. This wouldn’t be much different than the way commuter train service is operated in many places. Every few years the contract for the operations is up for bid, The assets of the commuter railroad are publicly owned and the commuter rail employees can stay on their job no matter who wins the contract. But this creates competition for management which can lead to improved service and revenues. If the current company fails to deliver, then another company can be given the chance.

This will be a big project. We should have the bidders present a business plan including their capital needs and service improvement plans to increase the productivity of Amtrak. What will be exciting is what these railroads will propose to improve service and revenue. Also having well trained, competent management will be an education for Amtrak employees to learn how to really run a good rail passenger service.

Former Supervisor Chicago

Took a class with Rita Powers a bit back and did not learn a d**n thing. She is probably good for new actors that know "JACK" about acting or the industry and will throw money at anyone they think will put them in the movies or on TV, Rita's not one of them. Learn about acting the right way, invest your money wisely. Real actors go to T. Schrei>>> - Maggie Flann>>> or The Barr>>> Group like professionals do, including you one day. Develop you craft and avoid people that take your money and just offer tips. You can get that in a box of Cracker Jacks or a McDonalds Happy Meal.

Word!!!

On a train readng this and my prayers go out to my brothers and sisters that have to deal with her. We hear Popo is snooping around calling employees tryng to get Janice on something. I was also told Janice is calling peeps in Chicago trying to get things on Po. One of our managers told us.

My money is on Po

What's going on in New York, a little coup

NYC OBS - It is often said that people do not leave bad jobs – they leave bad managers.

New York City OBS managers and supervisors are a prime example of "Horrible Management".

Below is just a typical day in the life of a NYC OBS Manager

• Setting employees up to fail
• Picking favorites among the office and hiring family, friends.
• Making false promises
• Ignoring feedback or questions
• Not standing up for employees
• Acting incompetent
• Not stepping in to offer assistance when help is needed
• Abusing in any way, including gossiping, yelling, swearing, name-calling, belittling, using aggressive body language and other rude behaviors that could lead to a toxic work environment
• Not looking to improve their own management skill/styles
• Discipline happy
• They don't care about their employees' career development
• They make no effort into team building
• Toxic behavior
• Sometimes almost criminal behavior

In my time there I've witnessed so much, good, bad and ugly. Many good hard working employees thrown to the side, written up for no reason, careers destroyed, dreams crushed all because one or more managers just had it out for them.

My niece graduated from college a few months ago with a degree in hospitality and asked me what I thought if she applied for a position at Amtrak. I told her, if she's looking for security, piece of mind and a balanced life for her and her family down the road, stay far... far... away from Amtrak.

 That’s our girl. She may be evil, but let me tell you, she will protect her friends that protect her. So watch out what you say about her. Who’s passing this list out to get rid of her.

Just say her name already, why beat around the bush - Janyce Rogers is a horrible excuse for a manager. Responsible for derailing the careers and destroyoing the lives of many of our coworkers, except for her inner circle, (they are safe). Her own boss doesn't trust her and was trying to get rid of her. 

Amtrak is not bad, its some of the managers and supervisors that make it bad. Why they constantly protect this woman, we have no idea. Hopefully upper management will see just how much of a dirty player she is and nip in in the but.

AJR, aka Joan Crawford in NY. Perhaps the most evil of all managers at Amtrak. Wonder how she wakes up each and every morning and faces herself in the mirror knowing how destructive and dispicable of a human being she is. An absolute monster and most of us can't stand the site of her and avoid her at all costs. Even her own boss was reaching out to a number of employees trying to find dirt on her, thats how horrible of a person she is. We all wanted to say something but live in fear that AJR would retaliate big time which she is known to do. She surrounds herself with people that kiss up to her out of fear and it would get back to her. It will be a much better Amtrak when they finally catch up to her.

You all need the vent - Spill it!

The qualities of a bad Amtrak manager. AKA - AJR

Narcissist. Me. Me. Me. Terrible bosses are endlessly self-centered. Everything is about them and not the people they manage or what is going on in their employees’ personal lives. It is never about the team, but rather all about how good they look. Conversely, great bosses lead with integrity, honesty, care, and authenticity.

Nepotism. To a form of unfair workplace procedure, when family members or friends of the boss or manager are hired not purely for their skills, experience or knowledge.

Bully. Bullies manage through fear mongering and intimidation. Often a “screamer” as well, these people do not give guidance; they bully. They also create a culture of distrust, nervousness, and fear. Under their thumb, employees are worried about losing their jobs. Office politics begin to dominate employee performance. This bullying often includes lying about people behind their backs and leading active campaigns to turn friends into workplace enemies.

Unapologetic. Great managers are quick to realize their missteps or mistakes and offer an apology. Bad bosses never realize their egregious behavior and certainly never atone or apologize for it.

Suck Up. How many times have you heard the term kiss a*s in your workplace? Bad bosses are notorious for spending little time with the people they manage. Instead, they spend their time sucking up to their boss and only trying to look good in their boss’s eyes.

Poor Communicator. Not giving clear instructions is a prominent trait among bad bosses. They frequently guard information and treat it as power. In addition, they often contradict themselves or give conflicting instructions. Their direct reports spend an inordinate amount of time trying to decode or interpret what limited communication is offered.

Terrible Listener. Bad bosses don’t listen, which goes hand in hand with being bad communicators. Worse, they do not even care to listen. Whatever you say, bad bosses hear what they want to hear. In addition, they interrupt constantly, and they are never fully present during interactions with employees.

Always Right. These bosses have a compulsive need to be right and consistently point out how others are wrong. They can never admit a mistake and say, “I am sorry.”

Unavailable. Bad managers are rarely available. They are MIA when needed most, especially in times of crisis, when critical decisions need to be made, or in employee situations that require sensitivity.

Never Praise or Encourage. Quick to criticize and slow to praise: Too many employees of bad bosses report that their managers have not thanked them in years. Given that recognition is the most effective driver of engagement, this is one of the most egregious traits of a bad boss.

Blamer. Lacking any personal accountability, these bosses blame everyone else when something goes wrong. They often break the rules or office policies to shift blame onto others. This type of boss leaves direct reports high and dry when it matters most.

Unrealistic and Demanding. Bad bosses set goals that are both unrealistic and unattainable, often doing so because of trait 5 (suck up). When these goals are not met, they blame their employees for not achieving them, labeling the employees weak, lazy, or poor performers.

Indecisive. Bad bosses live in fear of themselves, which often leads to decision paralysis. This indecision stems from a boss’s fear of making a mistake or simply not having enough basic business intelligence to make the decision.

Micromanager. Whatever work you are performing, the micromanager is always looking over your shoulder and second guessing every decision you make. This can be especially frustrating when combined with trait 13 (unable to make a decision). Highly controlling, micromanagers demand every last bit of information and squelch any opportunity for innovation or creativity. You are to execute orders and report back. Command and control.

Tolerant of Mediocrity and Relishes the Suck Ups. These bosses care more about whether employees kiss a*s than how they perform. They are tolerant of employees who do average or subpar work as long as they suck up and try to make the bad boss look good. Even if it is glaringly apparent that a poor performer must go, that person can remain in the position because of the ability to suck up.

Manipulative. Bad bosses are notorious for scheming and manipulating others, either for their own agenda or just for fun. It’s almost like a game to them, and they toy with people as though they are puppets. Sadly, this manipulation results in hurt feelings and an untold amount of wasted energy.

Vindictive. Heaven forbid you should ever cross, disagree with, or publicly debate an issue with the bad boss ro complain about one of her friends. Questioning this type of boss makes her feel threatened, and likely to go after you to make you feel the same way. Even if your motive for questioning your boss was well intentioned, when you’re dealing with a vindictive leader, it is sometimes best (or at least easier) to bite your tongue to protect yourself and your job.

Inconsiderate and Shaming. Bad bosses are frequently rude and inconsiderate, fond of shaming their employees or anyone under them. They use meetings as a forum to belittle or publicly humiliate employees except the SUCK UPS. Some of these behaviors are spawned by their own insecurities and fears; many bosses feel better about themselves when ridiculing others.

I worked under this one person for years, (AJR)

I am no longer employed by Amtrak (Thank God). While I was there I witnessed the worst in people, not from employees but rather from managemnt. I have seen good hard working employees written up for things they did not do, with no evidence or proof fired. Go infront of an arbitrator at a Amtrak hearing and found guilty anyway with our any evidence. A manager once told me: "We have it covered all the way up." She actually laughed about it with other managers, not realizing how many lives she destroyed. Way to much power some people have.

Way to many innocent people, their lives destroyed, all because a manager or two had it out for them.

New York is the absolute worst and should all be investigated for what they do to people.

I look forward to the day employees actually fight back.

God Bless!

Over the years that I've been at Amtrak, everyone sees how  wasteful  time Amtrak managers and supervisors spend going after innocent employees. Meanwhile,  some of the biggest thieves are in Amtrak management, ranging from supervisors to superintendents.  

Here is just a short list of some of the managers that were up to no good in recent times. Everyone knows who they are so no names need to be mentioned. 

An Amtrak superintendent who had thousands of dollars worth of gift cards in her in her bottom drawer, in her office. These cards were meant for employee perks, but instead was kept for herself and her select friends. She also would sell her line of clothing to the employees on company time. 

Another superintendent who was caught in the act of stealing vending machine money and pocketing it for herself. She was allowed to retire meanwhile her secretary was fired and arrested as well as escorted off of the property.

Another superintendent who’s close and personal friend was sexually harassing a fellow coworker, and brushed under the carpet, because he was a friend. They also had members of family hired and put on special assignment.

A Transportation manager admitted in a plea agreement that he steered work to his wife’s company. The Manager was also the business manager for his wife’s company and failed to disclose this relationship to Amtrak.

A train manager who spent a lot of time in a male peep store all on company time.

Another superintendent who was drunk on a train to Chicago and gave all of his friends rooms in the sleepers. Then the following morning, the train hit a tow truck. He disguised himself in a hoodie and Uber’d the rest of the way to Chicago in a rush to avoid anyone knowing he was on the train. This was all done in front of the crew and told not to say a word.

A service manager that used to send LSA’s to Canada just so they can get him Cuban cigars.

An upper mamagements wife who got a job as a sales person for a wine company, then amtrak happen to buy all of its wine from the same wine company.

A manager that was caught in a strip club getting lap dances from strippers while he was on company time. The employees were threatened with their jobs if they said anything. 

_

All this time managers spend going after innocent people. The very same people that bring employees up on charges are often over looked. This is just some of the stuff I and a few others have personally witnessed over the years, I am sure there are more stories.

I am a victim of Amtrak’s constant harassment, bullying and abuse. I’ve been in Amtrak for a number of years and have seen so much of this abuse go on and even to me. Because one manager did not like me, she went out of her way to have me fired. Because she didn’t like me, I’ve lost my home, my car, my health and even my family.

I have no medical and have diabetes and other ailments. I have contacted the links in the original post and following through. Sadly Amtrak goes out of their way to make it look as though you are the bad guy and guilty of everything. I wonder how some of these managers sleep at night knowing their deliberate attempts to destroy the lives of some of their employees.

Today I waited online at the benefits office just to have $16 put on a food card. She and others should be ashamed of themselves. Suggestion, we should start naming names. Because this is so unfair what some of these managers are doing and upper management will protect them.

Over the course of a number of years I have seen so many coworkers written up for anything, brought to a bias Amtrak trial and lives and careers destroyed. Why? Because a certain manager simply does not like them. We deal with humiliation and threats on a daily basis. It happens all over America and YES, even at Amtrak. I have contacted the link in the original post and thans for sharing.

Great letter!

I made the decision to re-sort your link to posts that were helpful to someone who might look for a job instead of sorting by lowest review - you see, the way you sorted the reviews is obviously misleading in an effort to justify your viewpoint.  Nobody sorts reviews to look for the crappy reviews - they sort to look for the helpful reviews.  By resorting to more helpful reviews, it avoids the reviews made by disgruntled employees whose contributions are not very helpful for an objective assessment.

Now, in addition to Indeed, I also checked glassdoor, which also does a better job of assessing the reality of working someplace than Indeed.  Here's the reality I found on both sites:

• Reviewers enjoy the great pay and great benefits (union shop - no kidding)
• Reviewers enjoy the people they work with
• Reviewers don't think much of management (no kidding, really?)
• Reviewers don't think much of the union (no kidding?)

Since you're talking about a union shop, you have much more of an opportunity to go to your shop foreman and complain about bullying, however much of the bullying you complain about has to do with following the safety rules on a train and there are a lot of rules.  If you run afoul of the rules, you are going to have a serious problem. 

If you have a problem with the discipline, then you may simply be incompetent and don't like being disciplined.  That would also be consistent with the misleading attempt you made to try and justify your point of view; that's what incompetent people might do to try and sway others.  That sort of thing really won't fly here.

The recourse you speak about when trying to handle this in a manner consistent with the Collective Bargaining Agreement actually favors the employee, not management.  I mean if you go before a disciplinary board in a venue favorable to the employee...and lose....then you are incompetent.  Appealing to Labor Relations (I believe you mean the National Labor Relations Board) which is comprised mostly of members also favorable to employees.  If you lose there....then again, you are an incompetent.

I believe that building employees' strengths is a far more effective approach to improving performance than trying to improve weaknesses.  This is a statement confirming your general incompetence.  A good manager will try and develop an employee so that their weaknesses are not weaknesses.  Otherwise the individual never develops as an employee and as someone who can be promoted later.  If an employee never develops and chooses not to improve weaknesses, then the employee should find another job.  This statement you typed is indicative of your own general incompetence, along with everything else you typed.

It's now time for you to go away....and no, I don't work for the employer....