When you first start at Watco, they make it sound good. They insist on calling you a "Team member" instead of an employee. They brag about their huge profits and how much they care about you- about all employees. They show you a cute little video that prattles on about Charles "D*ick" Webb and his philosophies- about how he cared about the employees. I think if Charles saw how his workers are being treated now, he'd be doing cartwheels in his grave.
The management at my terminal is, at best, hilariously incompetent- and at worst, downright crooked. Nepotism runs rampant (not that half the idiots in upper management even *know* what that word means) and favoritism trumps all skills. Maybe two supervisors are actually hands on and involved in the day-to-day work of their crews- the others sit in the building all day twiddling their thumbs and counting their dollars. The "training" before being thrown to the wolves consists of "here's our terminal, good luck". If an employee makes a mistake, no one stands with them- supervisors will throw them under the bus in a second if it will save their own skin. Upper management has no problem with crews working 15+ hours with one 15 minute lunch break, but most of them are out of the building by 4pm.
Benefits were at one time handed out generously to employees at the terminal, but were taken away one by one. At one time, crew members got train share, fluff time, retention bonuses, higher starting pay, and a good PTO system. Slowly, but surely, it was all stripped away.
The turnover rate for our terminal is something like 40% this year already- no one wants to address the problem areas or problem PEOPLE who are making this happen. The utility branch has been going through employees like toilet paper and no one has the presence of mind to LISTEN to the complaints they have on their way out.
I was sexually harassed DURING one of their special little "values" classes, right in front of a regional HR and a a CORPORATE HR rep. In fact, the act was practically encouraged. In an effort to "bond" us or something, they made us all (15 of us) stand on a 4x4 tarp and try to flip it over without stepping off of it. According to HR, they had already known about issues with a worker involved, but still put him in close contact with females. AMAZING!
Watco is a joke- go work for the actual railroad and save yourself some trouble.
