{"id":19263,"date":"2013-02-08T14:46:24","date_gmt":"2013-02-08T14:46:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/utu.org\/?p=19263"},"modified":"2013-02-08T14:46:24","modified_gmt":"2013-02-08T14:46:24","slug":"railroads-to-invest-25b-hire-thousands-in-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/railroads-to-invest-25b-hire-thousands-in-13\/","title":{"rendered":"Railroads to invest $25B, hire thousands in ’13","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON \u2013 The Association of American Railroads (AAR) announced the nation\u2019s major freight railroads plan to invest an estimated $24.5 billion in 2013 to build, maintain and upgrade America\u2019s rail network to ensure freight railroads can continue to deliver for the nation\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n
With approximately 22 percent of the industry\u2019s workforce eligible to retire in the next five years, railroads are dedicated to recruiting highly skilled people interested in making railroading a career, according to an AAR release.<\/p>\n
Freight railroads also estimate they will hire more than 11,000 employees this year, primarily in response to retirements and attrition for positions that can be found across the U.S.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are looking for employees who want a true potential life-long career and will want to help make the railroads safer and more reliable than they have ever been,\u201d said AAR President and CEO Edward R. Hamberger. \u201cThe success of our industry \u2013 from our importance to the economy to our continually improving safety record \u2013 can be attributed to the hard working men and women who make their careers with the railroads.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rail employee compensation, including benefits, averages roughly $107,000 per year, according to the AAR, with jobs ranging from engineers and dispatchers, to law enforcement, to information technology and industrial development.<\/p>\n