(The Oregonian posted the following article on its website on August 25.)
PORTLAND, Ore. — Union Pacific Corp., which owns the nation’s largest railroad, is looking for a few good men or women — 1,750 to be precise — to operate its freight trains.
Many Portlanders surely were surprised by a postcard in the last week or so delivering that news.
Union Pacific, based in Omaha, Neb., last week mailed “several hundred thousand” of the postcards to people living in select ZIP codes in the Portland area, said James Barnes, a Union Pacific spokesman.
The railroad, with about 50,000 workers, is being hit by two simultaneous forces that have made hiring more workers a top priority.
First, Barnes said, the railroad faces “unprecedented demand” for its freight-hauling services, particularly for coal, food, consumer products and automobiles. Second, a wave of retirements is thinning the railroad’s ranks. The company expects a 40 percent turnover in the next few years, Barnes said, because union rules allow anyone who reaches age 60 with 30 years’ experience or more to retire with full benefits.
The company is hiring 148 people in Oregon: 73 in Portland, 45 in Hinkle, 24 in Eugene and six in Klamath Falls. The men and women hired for the “train service positions” will be involved in train operation and movement, switching operations and train and equipment operations. Pay will be as much as $40,000 the first year and as much as $75,000 in future years.
If you get one of the positions, will you be allowed to wear a locomotive engineer’s cap? Maybe.
“You can wear anything from an engineers cap to a baseball cap,” Barnes said. “The important thing is it can’t obstruct your sight or interfere with your ability to do your job.”
For more information, visit www.unionpacific.jobs.