I read with great interest, the post by John West, below (People). I find it somewhat contrary that a board member of the RGRPC would praise the "people" of the C&TS, yet little seems to have been done for the REAL people of the C&TS, the employees, the locals who have literally dedicated their lives to keeping the C&TS on its tracks. I'm not talking about the "seasonal employees" (Coker, Stebbins, Stapelton, etc.). I'm talking about the "locals", the people who grew up in the communities of Antonito or Chama (Ducky, Marvin, Sam, Ray, Ricky, Ruben, Max, Robert, Orlando, and many others). They are the lifeblood of this railroad. Their years and years of hands-on experience in not something you can learn in any school, or get a degree in. Their years and years of experience, knowlege, and hard work seem to be undermined by the "powers-that-be" (the RGRPC).
Last year's major derailment was a perfect example. Years of knowledgeable experience could have saved the RGRPC countless man-hours, and passenger discomfort, IF the management would have listened to the voice of the employees, who have been through expiernces like this before. They KNOW how to handle situatuions like the one presented on that fateful day, but they were bound by "supervisors" and "superiors" who claimed to know more than they did about the situatuion. There seems to be a conflict of power between "those in charge" and those who actually know how to handle the situatuion.
During my visit last month, I was overwhelmed by the lack of morale amongst the employees. Having been an employee for over 13 years, it was interesting to be able to see things from the outside, looking in. Can the RGRPC take a step outside and look in to see what is actaully going on? I'm talking about morale and respect. The majority of the employees I spoke to feel very little respect is given to them for all their years of experience and hard labor. They continue on in their jobs as a labor of love, not to the company, but to the railraod, and their hometowns. I doubt the RGRPC could pay the employees for the wealth of knowledge they hold, but a pat on the back every now and then would probably have a ripple effect.
I've heard so much about how wonderful the new parloUr cars are, and how crowded they are every day. I would propose that the RGRPC take a portion of the revenues (say, 1/2 of the revenue) generated by the sales of tickets from the parloUr cars and put the monies into an employee fund (to compensate for the lack of benefits, and the lack of a retirement plan). At the end of the season, distribute the funds to the heart of the railroad, the employees (not the management or directors).
But more important than a bonus, I would suggest that maybe it's about time the RGRPC start doing something that I've seen very little evidence of so far: start listening to the concerns of your employees. THEY are the key to the success of the RGRPC and the C&TSRR.
The old saying continues on, "Too many chiefs, and not enought Indians." I urge you to STOP and take a look at what you have. before we all loose it. I have.
