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Had an interview with CN

Maxman1

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I had an interview with CN for a conductor position the other day. It went well, but near the end they asked if I would release from the army, and when I said no they said they would not be moving forward with my file.

Is that legal? It doesn't feel right for some reason.
 
I’m going to assume Reserve. Unless you were denied on human rights grounds (gender, race etc), employers can pretty much choose who to hire based on whatever criteria they have. Do you know for sure that is why they they decided to move forward?

Maybe contact CFLC? But to be honest, since you are not an employee there yet there is likely not much you can do.
 
I had an interview with CN for a conductor position the other day. It went well, but near the end they asked if I would release from the army, and when I said no they said they would not be moving forward with my file.
Sorry to read that. My father, and his father, were both wartime veterans, and CNR/VIA Rail locomotive engineers.
Mom still talks about the special things they did for their veterans and wives. I don't know if they still have it, but the employer used have a veteran's club for engineers.

My guess is they may have availability concerns if you have a second job.
I remember, before dad got on passenger service, his schedule running freight trains was pretty unpredictable.
 
I know one local employer who would not hire too many staff from each PRes unit.

The employer supported the CAF, but when a unit goes out on a weekend exercise and 30% of your staff
won't fill shifts those days, it becomes too onerous on the employer to hire too many members from each unit.
 
I tried to explain that it's flexible and it's not the end of the world if I miss a parade night or weekend exercise every now and then, but the interviewer wasn't interested. He actually said if I were to quit the army, to restart the application.
 
This might be of interest,


I never worked a "spareboard". But, it seemed to me the only time they can call their own was when on vacation.

  1. Spareboard or Pool: Employees will be required to work subject to a call for duty at different times. May be subject to calling windows or not.
 
Your best course of action might be have a friend or family member go to the media. The media is not normally friendly to us, but there is no reason that we can't try and take advantage of them from time to time.

I do think that it would be helpful if there was some type of human rights protections for CAF members, but it would probably open the door to an endless list of new things that you can't discriminate against.

I guess unfortunately it would have been a better idea not to tell them that you were in the military, perhaps if you apply in the future it might be better to leave it out of your resume.
 
I tried to explain that it's flexible and it's not the end of the world if I miss a parade night or weekend exercise every now and then, but the interviewer wasn't interested. He actually said if I were to quit the army, to restart the application.
My brother is along time Conductor currently training to be an Engineer. They have a pretty weird scheduling methodology that doesn't lend itself well to other jobs which is probably their reticence. It may also be that they don't understand that PRes is truly come as you want for the most part.


As for legality as others have pointed out it is not one of the protected grounds so a company has the ability to choose whomever they want.

CP Rail has a Veterans team if CP operates in your area
 
I do think that it would be helpful if there was some type of human rights protections for CAF members,
See also, 26 pages,

 
I guess unfortunately it would have been a better idea not to tell them that you were in the military, perhaps if you apply in the future it might be better to leave it out of your resume.
Until a train crew is involved in an accident. It will be investigated, and the subject of fatigue will come up.

The employer will say the employee had X number of hours and days off-duty.

Not included in that calculation will be the hours and days the Reservist worked their part-time job prior to the accident.
 
I tried to explain that it's flexible and it's not the end of the world if I miss a parade night or weekend exercise every now and then, but the interviewer wasn't interested. He actually said if I were to quit the army, to restart the application.

Maybe they aren't reading their own stuff:


CN is Proud to Honour and Support Veterans in Canada and the United States​

Each November 11, CN takes the opportunity to honour and appreciate the sacrifices and selflessness of the men and women who served in the Canadian and American militaries. At CN, we feel fortunate to have many active and veteran service members who are part of our team. These employees have made significant contributions to their countries and we are extremely proud to have them as part of the CN family.

Every year on this day, CN railroaders in our yards, shops and offices pause for a moment of silence, while train crews moving on our main line ring their engine bell, in honour of our co-workers, customers, partners and community members who are military veterans.

 
I had an interview with CN for a conductor position the other day. It went well, but near the end they asked if I would release from the army, and when I said no they said they would not be moving forward with my file.

Is that legal? It doesn't feel right for some reason.
It's legal, because they don't need to hire you if there is a risk of conflict with your other job's schedule. If you had another part-time their answer likely would have been the same.

I does feel wrong, but I don't think it's a military bias.
 
Maybe they aren't reading their own stuff:


CN is Proud to Honour and Support Veterans in Canada and the United States​

My father was an Engine Room Articifer's Apprentice in the RCN during the war. And a CNR / VIA Rail locomotive engineer from 1946 to 1991.

His father was wounded at Pachendale with the Canadian Army, and was also a CNR locomotive engineer.

From everything I saw and heard, CNR/VIA Rail treated their war veterans well. I also got the impression that applications from veterans were treated favourably.

Until you gain enough seniority, you will be on the "Spareboard". Dad was "set up" by the time he met my mom, but he told me about it.

Spareboard employees will be required to work subject to a call for duty at different times. May be subject to calling windows or not.

On the spareboard, the only thing you know for sure is when your vacation starts and ends.

Also, when the crew puts a train on the ground, there is an investigation into how many hours / days of rest they had.

CNR / VIA can control and calculate that. If you plan on keeping your part-time job, better to include that on your CNR application.

This was suggested up-thread:

I guess unfortunately it would have been a better idea not to tell them that you were in the military, perhaps if you apply in the future it might be better to leave it out of your resume.

I would not recommend that.
 
On the topic of part time employment vs CN conductor job, the same could be said about pilots. There are regulatory maximum on duty and flying times to be adhered to yet, companies rarely deny employment based on reserve flying. The onus is on the pilots to input their extra-curricular duty/flying times for the company to track them and schedule accordingly.
 
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