Quote:
UPSers, aka UPS people, start from the bottom when they are young, throwing boxes, sorting their packages and envelopes. They work their way up over a career and “earn” the high paying positions as a result. Essentially the entire executive suite here is composed of born and bred UPSers - they rarely hire from the outside. Originally Posted by blueskywanderer
Can you please elaborate why someone should choose employment with FedEx, Delta or others over UPS? What is/are the reason(s) you’re trying to convey that makes this place an undersirsble career option? Also note that this isn’t a loaded question — I’m genuinely wondering why, in your opinion, people should avoid UPS at all costs?
So us pilots come strolling into UPS with our ray ban aviator shades, our typical laid back cool ethos, and earn way more than most of the people that have worked here for a career almost from the day we start. And we get half the month off. And we fly first class around the world with long stays in Hawaii and Europe. And we have a huge retirement benefits package, insane health care, and so on and so on. What do you imagine the career people think of us? We’ve never thrown a box, worked a package car shift...we aren’t UPSers, just a bunch of overpaid prima-donnas. There is a very real resentful attitude towards us, to put it mildly, from not only UPS corporate but many folks in admin, HR, cheif pilot’s team, etc., as well. Not all, but many. IMO, this is where the problems with this job start. That being said, most of the peeps we directly interact with on a daily basis don’t fall into this generalization.
To keep it brief, working here is bitter-sweet. They are difficult to interact with. They are petty, will lie to you, they will try to cheat you out of $ with an, “oops, honest mistake,” attitude. Not only did they furlough (arguably) unnecessarily, they left a bunch of furloughed guys stranded in ANC - psychopathic behavior? They fought against installing TCAS in the airplanes and they bought the cargo exemption of 117. The latest shenanigans is that they are refusing to expand the fleet enough to handle the ever increasing volume instead subcontracting 7? planes from western global, blatantly against the contract. By the way, Someone posted a while back that we have exponentially more grievances per year than any other carrier (rumor only).
The schedules are becoming busier, with less time off and less commutability. The uniform pants are horrific as is the catering and it seems UPS is trying to make all these worse out of spite. Still, if you have a personal problem they will step up and act really nice and make sure you and family are taken care of as good as any other carrier would. And as bad as the things I mentioned above are, to UPS’s credit, they could be a lot worse if mother brown so chose. Most of the gripes guys have I could find at any other carrier albeit to a lesser degree.
The good: FedEx guys maintain they have he best vacay in the industry. Ours is outstanding, their’s must be phenomenal. Single pay rate all fleets with high pay rates in general. Health care bennies are way better than any pax carrier. Retirement package is solid, more diversified than the pax guys. Last US based 747 carrier outside ACMI. Contract holds it own to any other carrier out there. The union is solid and strongly unified. Guys on the line are a good bunch of people and we typically have fun despite our employer. In fact, if you show up do you job, enjoy the overnight, then go home you don’t really interact with UPS. That said, this is not a place where you find guys wearing company logo clothes on their days off. The vibe is pretty laid back, no one is on your behind, we don’t get harassed for uniform stuff, and you have to work hard at or do something really stupid to lose your job here.
Summation: it’s not bad but not great either even though at times it really can be. I wouldn’t write it off but I’d still question someone who has it at the top of their list.