Union Pacific Employee Reviews about "pay and benefits"

Pros

Great Pay (and I suppose opportunity to move up seeing as a lot of people are leaving/getting laid off/'involuntarily separated)

Cons

I was excited when I first joined up. Great OMT Program that psuedo-prepares you for management. Class said that if you were to have challenges, it would most likely be with the "Agreement Professionals" aka the union guys, but I guess I got lucky. All of my guys were amazing, and taught me more than management ever did (besides how to record/brief metrics). It's blatantly obvious that upper management really doesn't care about it's employees; I mean, read the other reviews. The company preaches work-life balance, but if you want to stand out and be good at your job (or perceived to be) you have to pull long hours, especially at when you're not at a big terminal and it's just you out there. Since I left there have been 2 (maybe 3?) rounds of layoffs. All to maximize shareholder value. It's such a shame because they preach safety, but then reduce the amount of the workforce, Agree and Salary (like management) alike and expect safer, more efficient work ethic. I just don't see that happening... Overall, I learned a lot from UP in the short time I was there ( only 16 months), but I'm glad that I left. Think twice before applying, especially if you have a family.

Pros

The pay is hard to find with no experience necessary. The benefits are not bad and you pay a flat rate no matter how big your family is. Railroad Retirement. Sick days can be taken by going online or calling an automated system.

Cons

The management treat "rank and file" employees like school children, and rule with intimidation. Many managers have never worked in train service and just make rules up. There are rules for every thing, so if you are hurt is is your fault. Work by the phone for many years and can be called in without notice. Depending on business, you may be working over 70 hours a week or close to 0. Work life balance is horrible. No match on 401k.

Pros

Great retirement benefits 100% pay of top 5 years for employee and about 50% pay for spouse. medical is great based on contract negotiations between union and company.

Cons

Upper Management, no individual bonuses or incentives unless your a supervisor on up. Seniority based employment meaning your first few years could involve a lot of traveling or no work at all.

Pros

Union Pacific is really big on improving their employees. There is a large fitness center in the building and they also pay for your gym membership when you travel. The compensation is quite competitive based on the information on glassdoor. Safety is the #1 priority.

Cons

The weather is probably the cons i have. The headquarters is located in Omaha,NE where the winters can be below zero. From my observation, I noticed that advancement is based on the visibility of your project.

Pros

Good company pay is good once you are done with training and working on your own.

Cons

Working on call for the first couple of years while you gain seniority

Pros

Pay is good when the company isn’t trying to screw you out of it.

Cons

Company doesn’t care about its employees. Shareholders are all that matters.

Pros

Pay is ok but it it getting much less competitive compared to market with current inflation.

Cons

Management changes priorities constantly, never know what they are going to be focusing on, its all about improving certain numbers and “shareholder value.” Cannot retain employees and they are not making changes. Always have to wait until the day of a time-off request to see if they can cover the shift because manpower is stretched so thin.

Pros

The pay is good and despite the slow erosion of benefits they are still good.

Cons

The company attempts to implement various new safety, productivity, efficiency, and disciplinary standards with little to no success with too much frequency. Too many programs have been tried without addressing the root cause of issues faced by labor. Management turn over has gone from bad to worse with each successive change becoming a new nightmare. Utilizing employees creativity in finding solutions has completely stopped and innovation is stifled. Too many protections for problem employees (often with higher seniority) have led to significant losses of skilled trade knowledge. The company has drifted far from the days when family values extended into the workplace. Workplace harassment is swiftly brushed aside or ignored altogether. There are so many unaddressed complaints about bad processes, safety in the yard, contractor immunity, and government regulation violations it is innumerable. I fear for my health and safety by continuing to work for this company. The measure by which certain departments are deemed productive uses false and inapplicable points of productivity.

Pros

Great pay, benefits, people, interesting, never boring. Conductors eventually promote to Engineer. The Trainmen/Engineer extra boards pay a guarantee of over $100k a year. Yard jobs pay less but offer a schedule and days off. Locals are in between, you leave the yard but are usually home every night. Some locals can pay VERY well and are usually reserved for the highest seniority employees.

Cons

Lifestyle, very little time at home, hard for the family. Jobs are based on seniority so your first couple of years are devoted to moving around to places where you can work. The job is somewhat dangerous and you MUST pay full attention when working. It's not a place for daydreaming. Managers seem to be more concerned with firing people rather than helping them.

Pros

Pay is good if you're ok with trading a lot of time for money. Benefits are decent. Good place to thicken skin and learn how to work through adversity.

Cons

Poor culture. Absolutely no regard for quality of life. Good ole boy system in full effect. Dishonesty, backstabbing, shaming peers on conference calls is admired.