The Railroad Conspiracy

The Railroad Conspiracy is a straightforward account of harassment and prejudice based on my employment experiences with Penn Central and Conrail Railroad Division in Philadelphia, PA from November 7th, 1974 until March 19th, 1980. These experiences included unwarranted demotions, harassment, public humiliation, racism, and eventually what I consider was an attempt on my life. I believe my superiors and some of my coworkers set out to destroy my career in the railroad after I had received public praise in 11 newspapers and from the commuter public when I worked the public address system as a Train Caller at the Reading Railroad Station. This public address job required a clear voice to tell the train commuters when trains were leaving and arriving. I stood out among the Train Callers for my unique delivery and style for which I received much public recognition among the commuters and the media. Two sample articles in the local Philadelphia newspapers that reported my outstanding work are included in the book. Although the public praised me for my work as a Train Caller, I was not appreciated or praised by my superiors. Although this seems like a minor case of jealousy, my life was turned upside down as I had to seek legal proceedings to protect my job. In handling my case, the legal system acted more like a kangaroo court rather than an honest system that could cite injustices done to me. What follows is a case study of how and where a company failed an employee and how the outside resources proved to be of no value to an honest, hard-working employee. Since this case study can be studied from different angles, The Railroad Conspiracy will prove valuable for various disciplines such as journalism and criminal justice, dealing with social attitudes, management practices, and corporate ethical responsibility. In the end, companies have a moral obligation to consistently protect their employees from the unnecessary and illegal treatment by other employees. In case a reader is curious about my background, I can report that I never had a police record or jail time all these years. Also, I did go to church off and on during these years in this story. In other words, I had always been an honest, hard-working employee and had proved myself a good worker at the railroad company. When we decide to accept a new job, we look forward to working as long as possible. In addition, we begin a social contract with the employer. We presume respect and fair treatment in exchange for being an honest, hard-working, and helpful employee. Employers expect many good things from their employees: good attendance; punctuality; good team spirit to work with their coworkers; helpful and creative suggestions to improve the job performance, and implicitly, the company. These work habits can make for a productive and pleasant environment in which to work. Problems can arise when an employee finds a different set of attitudes and values with the immediate supervisors and coworkers than the perfect job picture described by someone in Human Resources who offered the job. There are probably hundreds of thousands of stories of employees who start a job with high hopes of being successful only to find themselves facing hostile coworkers, a toxic boss, illegal operations, unscrupulous work, racism, threats, job bullying, lack of promotion, sexual advances, and other negative treatment designed to make someone quit. Compounding this situation, the employee may not want to quit because there may be limited opportunities for other suitable jobs, or the employee may not have the financial resources to live while unemployed. Considering the number of problems that can unexpectedly arise from bosses, coworkers, and immoral conduct at work, an employee can be considered fortunate when he is working for a supportive and helpful company.