Union Pacific Railroad, which has more than a thousand miles of track in Oklahoma, is offering hefty hiring bonuses in several states where it is shorthanded.
“We are offering $20,000 hiring bonuses for select roles in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Wyoming, as well as $15,000 bonuses in California and Utah,” Senior Communications Manager Mike Jaixen told Southwest Ledger. Also, some relocation bonuses “are available for people willing to move more than 300 miles,” he said.
Interested candidates can find a list of openings and apply online at http://UP.jobs.
UP had two job openings in Oklahoma on April 28, but neither qualified for a bonus. Both were welding jobs, one in Duncan and the other in Oklahoma City; salaries were not posted.
Hiring bonuses of $20,000 to $25,000 were offered to job applicants for train crews at multiple locations in Wyoming, Iowa and Minnesota. Bonuses of $20K to $25K will be paid for train crews at North Platte, Nebraska, and bonuses of $5k to $15K will be paid to train crews at South Morrill, Nebraska.
Bonuses of $15K to $20K were offered for train crews at Oakland and Stockton, California. Successful applicants who live less than 300 miles from either of those two cities qualify for a $15,000 bonus; for successful candidates who live more than 300 miles from either city, the bonus is $20,000.
The bonuses are paid over the first year, and the recipients have to work for UP for at least a year. In the event of termination or resignation less than 12 months from the hiring date, the bonus must be repaid in full.
“A newly hired Train Crew employee can expect to earn $71,000 - $81,000 per year during their first 1-4 years of service,” UP reports on its website. “Advancement to other Train Crew positions has earning potential up to $88,000 a year or more.”
Jaixen said the company has tremendous demand for train crews in all of the locations with sign-on bonuses. “Previous railroad experience is not required,” he said. “Union Pacific provides all of the necessary training.”
Job applicants must be 18 or older, must have normal color vision, and must be prepared to work for at least two years at the location for which they are hired.
Some of the qualifications are basic: keyboarding skills, possessing a valid driver’s license, experience reading and understanding instructions. Applicants must pass a preemployment test in English before being interviewed. Completion of a railroad conductor training course or program is preferred but not required.
Apparently working for Union Pacific Railroad is no cakewalk. For example, applicants must qualify on a physical ability test prior to employment – such as being able to push, pull, lift and carry objects weighing up to 87 pounds.
Former Union Pacific Railroad Conductor Stan Blake told Cowboy State Daily, a news outlet in Wyoming, that the “knuckles” that go on the end of railroad cars, for example, weigh between 80 and 100 pounds. They not only are heavy, they are awkwardly shaped and difficult to manipulate and put into place. “Even if you’re a big guy, they’re hard to put in,” Blake said.
UP job applicants must be able to perform physically strenuous work and occasionally bend, stoop, and kneel.
They also must have the capacity to walk (up to five miles a shift), climb, and maintain balance on railcars, locomotives, stairs, ladders, uneven terrain, moving equipment, rails and ballasts in a safe manner (occasionally working at heights of 12 feet or more).
Former employees told Cowboy State Daily that a UP job is demanding and “offers little time for a personal life.”
The jobs have variable work hours and irregularly scheduled days off, Jaixen said.
“Train crews are often on call, even on nights, weekends and holidays, and are typically required to report to work within 90 minutes of notification,” he said. “Train crews typically travel with our trains, sometimes spending a day or more away from your home terminal.”
UP RR in Oklahoma
Union Pacific operates in 23 states and has 1,240 miles of railroad track in Oklahoma. One of its main lines enters Oklahoma south of Terral and proceeds north to Waurika, where it splits at a wye.
UP operates on the northbound line through Comanche, Duncan, Marlow, Rush Springs, Chickasha, Kingfisher, Enid, Medford, and on to the Kansas state line.
The rail line from the Waurika wye extending northwest to Walters is owned by the Union Pacific but is leased to the Wichita, Tillman & Jackson Railroad, according to Brent Payne, manager of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission’s Railroad Department.
Another leg of the UP extends from the Dolese quarry at Richards Spur north of Lawton and proceeds north to Apache and intersects the main line at Chickasha.
In 2022, 40,076 UP railcars originated in Oklahoma and 55,393 cars terminated in this state.
The top five commodities UP transported out-of-state from Oklahoma in 2022, by volume, were:
1. Stone and gravel.
2. Paperboard and printing paper.
3. Fertilizer.
4. Wheat and flour.
5. Cement and miscellaneous minerals.
UP ships coal, feed ingredients, and assembled autos into Oklahoma. In addition, the drilling industry in western Oklahoma receives pipe and “fracking” sand on UP trains.
Union Pacific spent $205 million in Oklahoma on tracks, structures and facilities in 2018-22, the company reports.