UPS did not screw new hires out of leather jackets. I find it incredible that people like you try and paint the company as evil because they did not issue leather jackets to new hires. Intially we all were going to have to pay for our own jackets. But after the contract was ratified, Rick Barr agreed to pay for a standard Perrone jacket for all pilots on the payroll as of 9/1/2006 from his budget. This was to say thanks for approving the IPA contract. There was never an intent to not provide jackets for pilots hired after 9/1/2006.

Currently an agreement has been worked out for pilots hired after 9/1/2006 to use the point system to be applied towards the purchase of a Perrone jacket. Each uniform item is allotted a certain number of points. While this does not completely resolve the issue maybe this will slightly appease people like you that try to paint the company as too cheap to purchase additional jackets for pilots hired after 9/1/2006. We agreed to purchase a specific number of jackets with the initial contract with Perrone.

Hopefully we will work something out in the future so that like the current uniform policy all unifom items will be provided for......free of charge. I would like to think the point system application is a temporary fix!!!