2014-2016 hires have had a relatively charmed career thus far due to timing, and 2017+ hires began their careers under Contract 2016 during a period of airline and pilot group growth that hadn’t been experienced for two decades and will continue for at least the next two years. Once that growth stops, the mandatory retirement wave will begin in earnest and run for over a decade.

That is a FAR cry from the experiences of 88-90 hires, or the 97 Teamsters strike, or Age 65/Great Recession/parking three-man aircraft/mass displacements/furlough.

The company is profitable, tempo has gotten busier due to COVID, we overwhelmingly ratified a contract extension this past winter and there’s plenty of hay to be made in these times...as we all have friends staring down a furlough at the Big Three.

We’re pilots, complaining is what we do and we all wish there was even more hiring and training capacity and more Ochos and better catering/hotels and fewer denied trip trades and more reserve coverage and fewer reschedules and _______....but keeping perspective is important.

 

Great to hear you’re having a good ride so far. As SaltyDog recommends, try to keep that good feeling going for as long as you can.[/QUOTE]

Will do. I hope it stays easy from this point forward. Thank you very much.

 

Not sure I’m following. Your job security and seniority list progression arguments are spot on and I don’t recall anyone disagreeing, C2078 included. All he said was that our employer creates an unpleasant work environment/culture enough so that he second guesses if coming here was the right decision for him. You guys are the ones saying he is complaining about trivial items. A re-read of this thread will show you this is something he has not actually done. You guys are, crazy enough as it is, complaing that he is complaining. Same thing with the attacks on his ‘daily battle’ comment. I don’t think it was that hard to get the point he was trying to make. You guys forgetting that we have something like 50x plus the number of filed grievances as our peers? All the different ways the company is ignoring/subverting the contract on a daily basis? Cake story, whatever. How about the story of the 109? The part where the company ditched them in ANC is particularly telling of how ‘GREAT’ these people are. I think some of you are forgetting or repressing the reality of who we work for. I did post on here a few years ago that it seems UPS was improving in this regard. Nah, they are the same as they ever were. Even guys like Boiler suggest going home and forgetting all about Brown on your days off as a strategy for a positive work experience (“...forget about brown polyester”). Must be an awesome place to work having to avoid it unless necessary, not think about it when away in order to be content...? I agree with C2078 but yes, keeping it in perspective, this is all a single bullet point on a much larger decision matrix. Doesn’t mean that guys facing a furlough should disregard it because they are looking for another job.

Which brings me to the next topic. UPS isn’t going to be a realistic option for most on furlough. First, we hire less than 300 people per year. Second, UPS hires people that want to be at UPS (ie. their top choice airline). Third, UPS diversifies their hiring so they’ll continue to take people from all avenues.

 

This is true. It is also human nature. My grandmother on my dad’s side always complained. Living in a nursing home, she always had a long list. My dad said, when all she complained about was being constipated (even when she wasn’t), things must be going along pretty well.

 

I am happy here and I believe most of us are as well. Great people, great variety of flying and great prospects going forward. IPA represents us better than any other union in the business. Wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

 

UPS is no better or worse than any other airline out there when it comes to the daily battles.

 

Some people’s sample size is small

 

My daily battle is with only having twin size beds in the sleep rooms. I’m tall, and I’m forced to have to bend my knees slightly when I lie on my side. The inhumanity!!!

I’m new here, but I don’t see the negativity yet that some folks are talking about. I think they either 1) have never worked at a regional, LCC, or ACMI carrier and don’t have a frame of reference, or 2) are scarred from past conditions here that no longer exist. I wouldn’t trade this job for any in the world, unless of course they restart the space shuttle program.

 

I came from a very poorly managed on-demand Part 121 supplemental cargo carrier. I still agree, this is the best job in the world.

 

Never said one had to do that in order to be content, just that it was an option. For many flying jobs in aviation, it is difficult to 'turn off' being at work - certainly was in my previous position. Airline jobs in general and UPS specifically affords pilots the ability to "leave work at work" if being at work makes one unhappy.

I'm not unhappy being at work, others mileage may vary.

You've been here long enough to make up your own mind about the pros and cons and work experience of this place...which honestly is what everybody should do, make up their own mind without being biased or predisposed by the experiences of others who came before them. For potential employees of any company, they should perform due diligence and take both bitter and sweet opinions with a grain of salt.