I think what you see at Fedex and UPS these days epitomizes their respective unions and contracts. The FedEx contract/union is weak and that has resulted in many of their pilots only being paid 55 hours a month/bid. The UPS guys have a much better contract and the IPA refuses concessions at any level.

What has happened at UPS can never happen again. We've retired the 727, 747 classic, and DC-8 very quickly at the same time as age 65 and the worst economic downturn since WWII. The Worldport expansion was salt in the wound as more routes were cut. We are very lean now and efficient and IMO UPS will never hire aggressively again, but that means stability for those here.

FedEx on the other hand has more threats. This RLA/Fdx drivers debate could substantially change the company. I don't want to debate the issues here, but it's only a matter of time before both fdx and UPS are put under the same laws. Also, many Fedex pilot jobs are based on the USPS contract and there is no guarantee they will always have that, especially if the RLA no longer covers Fedex drivers.