Pulling rank: UP among top military friendly employers, magazine says (11/12/2004)
11/12/2024G.I. Jobs magazine recently named Union Pacific Railroad one of the nation's top 25 military friendly employers for 2004.
About 450 UP employees are reservists or National Guardsmen, 125 are in active military service and about 150 completed military terms.
The magazine ranked the railroad sixth based on military recruiting efforts, the percentage of new hires with prior military service, and company policies on National Guard and reserve service.
UP recruiters seek military personnel by attending military job fairs and transitional assistance programs, and visiting major military installations. The Class I also spends about 10 percent of its job advertising budget on national military publication and local base newspaper ads.
The railroad targets Armed Forces personnel because some technical jobs — such as locomotive and rail-car mechanics, and electricians — require skills similar to military service, according to a prepared statement. In addition, many railroad positions involve outdoor work and non-traditional working hours.
The Class I has a long history of hiring military personnel. At the end of the Civil War, UP hired many soldiers to help build the transcontinental railroad.
Source: Progressive Railroading Daily News