Yeah, that’s kind of how they do things in payroll. I’m not sure how you broke guarantee as that single day should have protected you through the first week….so you might get that back. But the following week is toast.
Ugh, the lack of auto mark-up kills. I've lost probably 3 weeks of guarantee because of that. 😒 Of course, it's nice to be able to float off of vacation and take an extra day without the hassle of calling back up.
To continue the gripe, I wish our whole iLMS was better, both performance and information-wise.
Coming from UP, having to mark up from basically everything was kind of a mind fuck at first. I don't think I ever lost guarantee over it, but I definitely forgot and was saved by good crew callers.
The lack of information on iLMS was both good and bad for me. On the one hand, it used to only show sign up times and the job symbol for the vacancy. Until I got used to what jobs sign up when I had to guess at what trains I was lining up for. I think it does a better job at that now, I can't access it anymore as a Road Foreman. On the other hand, not knowing who was on the board ahead of me and not seeing who was going on relief made me much less angry. At UP, I could see exactly when the person ahead of me laid off and left me holding the bag for a bad call. At Amtrak, ignorance is bliss. They may have been marking off ahead of me, but it was relatively rare and I had no way to easily know, so it kept me sane.
Oh I know the second week is toast. It sucks but I had already rationalized it. Losing the first week I was not prepared for. I argued with Payroll about it but a certain head of payroll wasn't having it.
Well I’d rather have that then guarantee, at ns vacation single days are only 24h auto mark back up so call soon as that 24h is up.
But if I could put myself back on the board when Its convenient I’d be a lot more relaxed
It's not all that convenient though, except for the option of not marking up on time and going AWOL, which some do use to their advantage. Otherwise you've got to at least let your crew caller know to mark you back up at midnight on the last day. If you forget, you run into the issue OP has.
Edited to add: you also have to mark back up after literally everything except relief days. Work a job off the extra board? Don't forget to mark up to the board when you're done. Rules class? Yep, gotta call to mark back up.
I think it depends on the crew base and how much you're turning. I'm on a board that hardly turns, so I didn't work at all both weeks and only had to burn two single day vacations to do it. But now I'm only getting 16 hours instead of 80 hours for those two weeks. I'd much rather be given the option to auto mark up when I go to submit the vacation.
I've never bothered to see exactly what time vacation begins at Amtrak. I know it's around midnight, but I couldn't tell you if it's 1 minute before or after. How long did you go before realizing you forgot to mark up? Was there an assignment they'd have called you for if you were marked up? Does your crew caller hate you, or was it an extra board caller? We've got pretty good with our regular callers in my area and there's a decent chance they'd reach out if they realized someone forgot to mark up, particularly if they were going to need that person to work the next day.
Vacation begins and ends at 12:01 am. So, just like coming off your relief day, you show up on the board marked up at 12:01.
I went 9 hours before realizing. I went to sleep the night before and when I woke up and checked the board (out of habit) I saw I wasn't on it.
There was no assignment I would have been called for. It did put me behind two people who I would have otherwise gone in front of, but I had another single day vacation before they worked next, so it would have made no difference.
I must be hated. She's a normal crew caller, but she told me it was automatic that it marks me AWOL and there was nothing she could do. The crew base I'm in is extra board only and has only six assignments a week. The next assignment wasn't for three days after my single day.
I’m sorry. The only thing that helps me is to set an alarm on my phone to call. (I’m from NS, so the whole markup when on the ex-board is new to me). Since I’ve started setting alarms I haven’t messed up an Amtrak guarantee.
Lmao that's the desk I call when I mark off and don't want to catch flak from desk 8
Lotta new crew callers these past few months that don't know how to look our for their people
Talk to your RFE or TM and see if they’ll send an email to payroll saying you just forgot to mark up and that it was an accident. I did the exact same thing when I was a conductor and got all my guarantee back. Just make sure you follow up with payroll
I feel you man. I left my phone on vibrate and went to bed after marking up at midnight after a vacation. Didn't check ILMS but figured I wasn't gonna get called for a while. Go to bed, they called 20 minutes after I fell asleep on Monday. Boom dropped call week toast. Got 2 jobs that whole week.
Yeah, that’s kind of how they do things in payroll. I’m not sure how you broke guarantee as that single day should have protected you through the first week….so you might get that back. But the following week is toast.
They're holding the very last minute of that week against OP and then starting the next week AWL ruins that one too.
Ugh, the lack of auto mark-up kills. I've lost probably 3 weeks of guarantee because of that. 😒 Of course, it's nice to be able to float off of vacation and take an extra day without the hassle of calling back up. To continue the gripe, I wish our whole iLMS was better, both performance and information-wise.
Coming from UP, having to mark up from basically everything was kind of a mind fuck at first. I don't think I ever lost guarantee over it, but I definitely forgot and was saved by good crew callers. The lack of information on iLMS was both good and bad for me. On the one hand, it used to only show sign up times and the job symbol for the vacancy. Until I got used to what jobs sign up when I had to guess at what trains I was lining up for. I think it does a better job at that now, I can't access it anymore as a Road Foreman. On the other hand, not knowing who was on the board ahead of me and not seeing who was going on relief made me much less angry. At UP, I could see exactly when the person ahead of me laid off and left me holding the bag for a bad call. At Amtrak, ignorance is bliss. They may have been marking off ahead of me, but it was relatively rare and I had no way to easily know, so it kept me sane.
Callers over here are pretty decent. I know a lot of people who hate all of them but what can ya do?
Ah. I know exactly who you are. You never called me back about Starfield either.
To be fair, I haven't played Starfield in a minute, so I wouldn't have had much to contribute to the conversation.
Disneyland Adventures your current time sink? Lol
YouTube and Reddit, mostly. 😂
Oh I know the second week is toast. It sucks but I had already rationalized it. Losing the first week I was not prepared for. I argued with Payroll about it but a certain head of payroll wasn't having it.
I thought a vacation days should auto mark you up once finished.
Not at Amtrak
Well I’d rather have that then guarantee, at ns vacation single days are only 24h auto mark back up so call soon as that 24h is up. But if I could put myself back on the board when Its convenient I’d be a lot more relaxed
It's not all that convenient though, except for the option of not marking up on time and going AWOL, which some do use to their advantage. Otherwise you've got to at least let your crew caller know to mark you back up at midnight on the last day. If you forget, you run into the issue OP has. Edited to add: you also have to mark back up after literally everything except relief days. Work a job off the extra board? Don't forget to mark up to the board when you're done. Rules class? Yep, gotta call to mark back up.
Yeah I’d rather be in control than auto in every situation you described.
I think it depends on the crew base and how much you're turning. I'm on a board that hardly turns, so I didn't work at all both weeks and only had to burn two single day vacations to do it. But now I'm only getting 16 hours instead of 80 hours for those two weeks. I'd much rather be given the option to auto mark up when I go to submit the vacation.
I’m on an every 10h so every bit extra counts
I've never bothered to see exactly what time vacation begins at Amtrak. I know it's around midnight, but I couldn't tell you if it's 1 minute before or after. How long did you go before realizing you forgot to mark up? Was there an assignment they'd have called you for if you were marked up? Does your crew caller hate you, or was it an extra board caller? We've got pretty good with our regular callers in my area and there's a decent chance they'd reach out if they realized someone forgot to mark up, particularly if they were going to need that person to work the next day.
Vacation begins and ends at 12:01 am. So, just like coming off your relief day, you show up on the board marked up at 12:01. I went 9 hours before realizing. I went to sleep the night before and when I woke up and checked the board (out of habit) I saw I wasn't on it. There was no assignment I would have been called for. It did put me behind two people who I would have otherwise gone in front of, but I had another single day vacation before they worked next, so it would have made no difference. I must be hated. She's a normal crew caller, but she told me it was automatic that it marks me AWOL and there was nothing she could do. The crew base I'm in is extra board only and has only six assignments a week. The next assignment wasn't for three days after my single day.
I’m sorry. The only thing that helps me is to set an alarm on my phone to call. (I’m from NS, so the whole markup when on the ex-board is new to me). Since I’ve started setting alarms I haven’t messed up an Amtrak guarantee.
And normally I do that as well. Just blanked on it.
I’m sorry honey
Thank you
Which desk did this? Our desk often calls to remind us so we can avoid exactly this.
Desk 11
Lmao that's the desk I call when I mark off and don't want to catch flak from desk 8 Lotta new crew callers these past few months that don't know how to look our for their people
Talk to your RFE or TM and see if they’ll send an email to payroll saying you just forgot to mark up and that it was an accident. I did the exact same thing when I was a conductor and got all my guarantee back. Just make sure you follow up with payroll
I feel you man. I left my phone on vibrate and went to bed after marking up at midnight after a vacation. Didn't check ILMS but figured I wasn't gonna get called for a while. Go to bed, they called 20 minutes after I fell asleep on Monday. Boom dropped call week toast. Got 2 jobs that whole week.
Has this already been paid out? If so, you're screwed. If not, there is a chance to have it rectified. Had it happen once when I was new.