Wow.  What set you off, or to put it bluntly, what are you talking about?  

"Union Pacific Named One of 2009 Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles Award Winners from National Business Group On Health"

www.uprr.com/.../0624_health.shtml

  I think it mighta showed up here, too.

  Yup.

www.progressiverailroading.com/.../article.asp

   I gather he disagrees with this view, but I could be mistaken.

Mr Swidergal is a current or former UP employee.  He may knoweth of what he speaks but as Lao Tze said, "Those who know do not speak, those who speak do not know."  

Former, out for a 49CFR219 violation for at least 4 years now. How's the mushroom farm with Hilko working out?

I am a current UP employee in the locomotive mechanical department.

Support for a healthy lifestyle? Most definitely. My gym membership is paid for by the company. There are smoking cessation and weight loss programs available, as well as peer support and mental health support available. Not to mention alcohol and substance abuse programs.

I was also injured at work several years ago and my experience was very very different from what Mr. Swidergal seems to be talking about. There was no pressure on me, or my doctor, to "expedite" my treatment and return to work; nor was there ever the suggestion that I be fired because of what happened.

Mr. Swidergal,

Your initial post was full of what some would consider libelous remarks about the UP, yet when someone else makes statements regarding you it becomes a violation of your personal liberties? Isn't entitlement wonderful! Try to remember that people in glass houses shoudn't throw stones. Do you understand???

Before this thread goes much farther, let's consider a few things, shall we?  First, the bottom line is what corporations and their managements are supposed to worry about.  If they don't worry about it and ensure the greatest return on investment, they will not remain in business, as those who worked for the Penn Central, Rock Island, Milwaukee, Reading, Lehigh Valley, CNJ and a few others can attest.

Well managed companies - railroads, too - usually achieve superior results by doing what they can to have a reasonably satisfied work force.  That's considered good business.  As NS points out in explaining its zeal for safety, the accident you con't have doesn't clutter up your railroad or affect service to customers.  In my years around this industry, I've found that those who are most antagonistic toward management frequently don't know what they are talking about and if they do, they intentionally are fabricating angst such as we've seen here.  The vast majority of railroad employees do the jobs they are assigned, are reasonably satisfied with the paychecks they get and the conditions under which they work.  Is it perfect out there?  Of course not.  Nor are managements of today's Class 1s as heartless and cruel as some like to suggest.

 "My comments are hardly libelous, and as a matter a fact, non threatening when considered I was not attacking an individual, but a corporation that is publicly traded, (no infraction on my part legally or otherwise."

   Corporations are "fictitious persons", they have pretty much the same rights  to their "good name" as individuals do.  Whether something is libelous has a lot to do with context (or how could we have celebrity roasts?), but I really ain't too sure this is the best place to vent.  Some people who have had a happier time with the UP might take it personally, and all that.

   I'd be willing to bet that there are managers even in the worst places to work that take their subordinate's needs seriously, and tarring them with the same brush isn't right.

" The violation comes when an individual who is third party offers inclusion without authorization of my personal work history, that is the violation, and you (if you are a real RR manager would or should have known that)."

  Might not be libel, though.  For all except a limited number of things dealing with "personal" (usually read "sexual") privacy, truth is a defense in libel and slander.  Many privacy policies are company policy, not law.   I suppose you could sue over it and find out for sure, but I think that's a pretty gray area.

"And as far as my loyalty to the Railroad whether the UPRR or any other non human entity is is within my LEGAL parameters to discuss, and or complain because there is no conciousness involved when discussing an entity, where WILSON does not have legal authority to disclose what does not belong to him in this case my personnal record and or work history."

   No.  Seriously.  No.  Companies have just about the same rights against slander and libel that "natural persons" like me and thee do.  You attack their "good name", they can respond.  They wouldn't and shouldn't here, probably, but that's a different story.

anmccaff once again is a voice of reason.  As they say at the bridge table, let's review the bidding.  James obviously has had a "bad" experience with UP.  James fired off a blog comment that is unkind to UP, although it may or may not be accurate.  LCWilson managed to obtain James' personnel information and published that as a comment here.  Wilson presumably is a UP supervisory employee, else the personal personnel information probably would not have been available to him.  James has admonished Wilson by threatening or suggesting that he potentially is subject to legal action.  RRManager has sided with Wilson.  Starnut hs chipped in that he is a UP employee and disagrees with James.  Let's face it, folks, there are railroad supervisors who might be candidates for sainthood, who care for an about the people they supervise.  There are others who bring discredit on themselves and their railroad.  This is so in any industry.  Finally, I'd be very surprised if anyone were to sue anyone else for libel, defamation, or slander.  So let's try to avoid using inflammatory language, especially when some don't really know what the words mean.  You demean only yourselves.  And James, a friendly bit of advice: it's not a good idea to bring your personal angst to a blog site.  You have no knowledge of the people who read and/or participate or who they may be.  Discretion is the better part of valor, as someone else once said.

LK>"anmccaff once again is a voice of reason."

   That's because I was talking about someone else's problem.  I'm as unreasonable as the next guy about my own, enough of the time.

LK>" Finally, I'd be very surprised if anyone were to sue anyone else for libel, defamation, or slander."

  Yeah, me, too, but the same words in another context could be different.

 I don't personally know many people here, but my impression of Mr. S. was, and is, pretty positive.  Except when he's talking UP.  Since the rail world is such a small place, it doesn't make practical sense to annoy people who you might have to do business with over things they didn't do themselves.

This Blog is entertaining!

I'm betting Mr. Swidergal will get a lot better as soon as the check arrives.

Until then...............................

Are we having fun yet?

Mr. Swidergal,

I find your legal opinion that a publicly traded company cannot be defamed or libeled to say the least unique. In that case you should consider taking a full page add in a major newspaper to share with the world your unbiased opinion of the UP. After all, you are only speaking to a small audience of people here may or may not be "real" managers, vendors & employees.

By the way, "Do you understand" is a question and should be followed with a question mark, understand?

RRManager