Unsuck DC Metro: Endangered Species: Orange Line Station Managers

Monday, October 31, 2011

Endangered Species: Orange Line Station Managers

A source told me the other day that four Orange Line station managers have been suspended in the last several months, three of them after testing positive for illegal drugs.

Here are their versions of the stories:

A Ballston station manager left a woman stuck in an elevator for 90 minutes, and in the subsequent investigation popped positive for drugs and was suspended for 90 days.
In Vienna, a station manager popped positive for drugs for the second time and was suspended for six months.
A Dunn Loring station manager fell down on the job for no reason and subsequently tested positive for drugs. I'm not sure of the punishment.
Finally, a station manager at West Falls Church was busted for locking people in the station for the second time. He was "fired," the source said, but lawyered up and was able to get reinstated for promising to never do it again. This particular station manager, was apparently clean.

More on drugs later.

Other items:
Fewer complaints. Is Metro better or complaining futile? (Examiner)

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Guest · 699 weeks ago

I usually only ride Metro to go out at night, so I'm usually on the system pretty late. In the past couple of years, I've probably interacted with station managers a handful of times, and I'd say three times, they were obviously under the influence of something. I guess it's a pretty boring job, but still...

2 replies · active 699 weeks ago

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UnSuck Fan · 699 weeks ago

Sorry, but having a boring job is no excuse!

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guest · 699 weeks ago

If you test positive for DRUGS twice you are FIRED! You are suspended for 6 MONTHS when tested positive for DRUGS the first time. A lady I was told could not give enough URINE in their HUGE plastic cup. (Other sample cups are smaller) and she was suspended 6 months without pay.

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hrh king friday 13 · 699 weeks ago

So are these penalties paid administrative leaves or actual consequences? I ask because this could be a potential achilles heel for the union... WMATA could make it a policy that any Metro station with an elevator or escalator outage that lasts more than a week, bam, drug test the maint crew. Track work that last twice as long as it should? Test the engineers. Station manager on thier ass during a public disturbace? Test 'em. If you can't nail them for being lazy, there's motivation threatening to take away thier drugs.

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Radner · 699 weeks ago

In other words . . . the people of the Orange Line have the hook-up, yet no line on clean urine?

2 replies · active 699 weeks ago

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bet · 699 weeks ago

Find out if their supervisors and managers have ever tested positive.

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aaanon · 699 weeks ago

yea! you would not believe the managers and supervisors who have drug use and distribution records. maybe this has something to do with acceptance of others.

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John · 699 weeks ago

Were these six month suspensions paid suspensions? Because if so, thats the biggest fucking waste of money ever.

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Anti-TB Guy · 699 weeks ago

"popped positive"? My-oh-my, I'm falling behind in my urban street vernacular! ;-) Thanks for the lingo freshener, Unsuck DC Metro, you keep me from embarrassing myself too badly with today's in-crowd!

As for the drug testing protocol, I'm all-in with hrh king friday's suggestions.

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mike · 699 weeks ago

A few months ago, my $30 farecard was eaten in the machine while trying to reload my smartcard. I went to the station manager, who was rude, and she handed me a form to fill out. I asked if she could let me use a pen as I didn't have one. She said she didn't have one and that I would have to find one on my own. I had to go up to the street and borrow a pen from a coffee stand. This whole time I missed 3 or 4 trains and I ended up being very late to work. A small bitter part of me hopes it was her who was suspended.

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Insider · 699 weeks ago

A good portion of station managers are problem employees and workers comp cases (fake). Why metro choose to put them as the face of metro is beyond me

2 replies · active 699 weeks ago

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n2deep · 699 weeks ago

very true

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anno · 699 weeks ago

Station managers have medical issues to begin with. How about letting employees who want to be station managers apply.

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ATP · 699 weeks ago

This is bad. But "testing positive for drugs" is disturbingly vague. Illegal drugs?
Prescription drug abuse? Marijuana? PCP? Heroin? Not to say I approve at all of Metro workers being stoned, but let's be a little more specific here.

5 replies · active 699 weeks ago

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unsuckdcmetro 92p · 699 weeks ago

Illegal drugs--not sure which.

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former employee · 699 weeks ago

Employees have to report monthly of the prescribe drugs they take and send to Metro Medical . Mediclal will let the employee or Supervisor know that the drug is not ok to take. If an employee fails to report prescribe drugs, it is considered illegal. I know a janitor that has to this and is not classified as "safety senitive job"

Mgmt. is not required to submit to any kind of drug testing. I would bet there would be a lot on the street if they had to abide by drug testing.

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n2deep · 699 weeks ago

not necessarily illegal drugs. the acceptable levels of opiates,( which include barbiturates), in PPM in the blood stream is very low. however there is an allowable amount of THC in PPM. the standards are based on the NIDA 5.

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former employee · 699 weeks ago

What??? I just reviewed the "handbook" According what was tested postive for is how much time suspension.

If you are taking prescribe drugs and don't report them monthly you could end up like the Janitor. COA ---ask shop steward . she spend a month w/p pay. ADA advacate got her job back. She has to take this medicine for the rest of her life. and forgot to report it monthly and gpt this hassle.

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guest · 699 weeks ago

Why don't you request records for managers using drugs too? They are not exempt!, be fair on this blog.

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DC Denizen · 699 weeks ago

Do Metro workers get random drug tests? Or are they tested only after an "incident?"

3 replies · active 699 weeks ago

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RGG · 699 weeks ago

Station Managers, escalator techs, and some others normally require an "incident" to get tested. Train/Bus operators, I believe, are subject to randoms, as are the police (naturally.)

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hounds4l · 699 weeks ago

Station Manager positions are not safety sensitive positions.> so only tested when there is an incident.
But the middle managers need to be tested biannually. I know of Supervisors who sold and distributed illegal drugs in the past and other managers tested positive for drug use and got an appointment and promotion earning six figures that work at metro.

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DC Denizen · 699 weeks ago

It's a shame that Station Managers are not seen as safety sensitive positions. As we can see from the Rosslyn incident a couple of weeks ago, I'd say that Station Managers there were definitely in a safety sensitive position where they were making decisions that could help or harm riders in those packed stations.

I'd argue that in Metro's new "Safety Culture," every position should be considered a safety sensitive position and all Metro employees should be tested randomly for illegal drugs. This would perhaps be a better use of $15,000 than a leadership coach for the upper management, or $13,000 for "working lunches." Brown bag it, people, and save the cash for more important things.

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BradK · 699 weeks ago

It's interesting to see the different wordings in linking to the Examiner article at the bottom regarding metro complaints...

From GGW: Their summary: "Metro complaints down, bus complaints up"
Unsuck's summary title: "Fewer complaints. Is Metro better or complaining futile?"
The real title: "Metro riders complaining less -- unless they ride Metrobus"

I'm sure there are others, but the ongoing argument is GGW bloggers vs Unsuck... and the more I read of both, the more I lean here..... Granted there is quite a bit more whining here, but it is typically less smug. I think we are all tired of paying for lackluster service, but we all have to do it... If complaining about metro is down, I would like to see the numbers from last year, when there wasn't an earthquake, hurricane, flood in the tunnels, fires on the tracks, and lest we forget, the Rosslyn incident a few weeks ago.

Specifically looking at the Rosslyn incident, lots of complaining took place, and Metro took it in great stride saying they performed optimally, and riders, while frustrated, were making do with little or no complaining. Further, the study came straight from WMATA, rather than an independent orginization, so I have absolutely ZERO confidence in its ability to tell me anything real. This is like Comcast or Cox telling you that according to their survey, they have the best product in existence.

Use some common sense.... Anyone want to do an independent survey?

1 reply · active 699 weeks ago

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