Hello,

     This is my first time posting on this website, I just became a member about 5 minutes ago. Although I saw the labels for areas to post in I am not sure where to post this question.

     First let me post a little information about myself, I worked for a railroad construction contractor for a little over 4 years. So I was not directly employed by any actual railroads, but I have worked as a sub contractor for all of the major railroads in my area. Though, most of my time spent working on railroads has been in privately owned rail yards inside of chemical refineries.

     The first position I started as in the company I worked for was laborer. Pretty much my jobs entailed everything that you can think of related to building, working on, demolition of exsisting tracks. Carrying full kegs of spikes, spiking guns, there were a few instances when I was told to pick up and carry 7"x9"s. You probably don't believe the last part, but it is true. Sometimes I felt like they foreman and the company were pushing me just to see how hard they could before I broke.

     After a year and a half of working in chemical refineries(and being exposed to whatever chemicals they were unsafe enough to release into the atmosphere) and working in the tunnels underneath of Philadelphia(being assured that the black dust that caused nose bleeds and that I was spitting out for days in the shower was not asbestos) I started to question my choice in life to be a railroader.

     So after a year and a half of eating dirt and creosote for this company(and myself), I decided that I was going to try my hand at something new. After reporting this to the company that I worked for, they informed me that there was something that they could offer me to ease my mind of the concerns that I had. My primary concern was that the union that I was in was influenced by the contractor that I worked for. New Jersey is one of the most expensive states in the country to live and work in, and some how doing railroad construction it was agreed upon by the contractor and some big wig at my union that the max wage for doing our job was $13.00. I'm not sure how that would hold up in the rest of the country, but around here walmart pays $9.00 an hour. My boss approached me with an offer, "I want you to take one of our tool trucks, be a foreman for us and run jobs." So with reluctance I accepted.

     The deal that I was offered was that I'd be put in a local union and be payed going rate for heavy highway and that I'd receive the benefits to go with it. Also I was told that I was not going to have to beat my body to death anymore because I'm now a "boss".

     Well none of that was the case. Now instead, I'm doing the work of 2 men because the jobs I am given to run are always under manned or the equipment sent to my job sites are unsafe, or not environmentaly sound.

     While working across the street from a chemical refinery, there was an explosion and my gang and I were enveloped by 2 waves of a thick white disorienting, breath taking cloud. No one would give us answers, no one cared. We were told to get back to work by the safety director for the company. One of the guys from my gang has been developing serious breathing issues that his doctor testified are directly related to the gas. I feel differently as well, constant mucous and mild shortness of breath.

     One day while opening up a road crossing, I was using a pick axe clear the base of the rail and a crib so that my gang can install gauge rods to regauge the track. When I experienced a sharp pain in my shoulder that has persisted for over a year now, I reported it immediatly. The result was that I had a surgery performed to repair my rotator cuff and shoulder. The company told the insurance that I would have modified duty, I was forced back to work after a week. On construction sites with my arm in a sling, in severe pain while on heavy narcotic pain killers. The pain never went away, and now I'm dependant on the pain killers for sleep and relief from pain.

    Recently I was terminated for reasons I believe were related to my injury and the fact that I'm serving as a witness in a lawsuit for my coworker that was terminated shortly after the gas(he lost his benefit and has 100k worth of debt).

    Pretty much, I just want to know if this is the way I should expect to be treated for the rest of my railroading life?