Curious about the job and how it works for advancement and such. Email if you prefer.

Had a buddy who drove for them. You have to start on the dock, then wait for a holiday/sick relief driver position to open up. After that, you get to bid as routes become available.

My Son has worked for UPS for about 15 years.
He started working at Ohare Airport loading planes. He paid his dues doing that for about 5 years before he had enough seniority to move to package car driver. I paid for him to go to truck driving school( CDL A license) so he could secure that job. It was rough. Hundreds of stops a day. When he would finish his route they would come out to his truck and load more deliveries.This was as substitute driver never being on a route long enough to actually learn it well.
He endured that for several years and then was allowed to try semi. He is still doing that driving trailers and doubles.

There are two different Teamster unions. He is in the one that does local deliveries and pick-ups, he spends a lot of nights at rail yards in the worse locations around Chicago. Occasionally
He is offered by the other union to make regional trips, he likes that better but can't transfer to the other unit unless he quits and losses all his seniority. Same applies if he wants to transfer to another State.
UPS is rough!
He has spent several years driving 40 minutes to work only to be told they don't need him today. Other times they work him long hours many times having to pick him up at a location because he has been driving too many hours. He either makes a boat load of money or not even enough to pay for his union dues that week and health insurance. He is 34 and married with two kids and a house to pay for.
As years go on he gets better working hours to bid on. He tells me the problem with newer guys is the old guys don't want to retire, they have the best routes and vacation times.
His benefits are the best and the pay is great if you get to work.It takes many years to get to a comfort zone but worth it if you can stick it out

Not UPS employee but used to work for its competitor long ago. They run on the same system. You work your way up starting with loading and unloading. Advancement from within. Loading/unloading>airport pickup driver>delivery/pickup driver/management>tractor trailer driver/management .

It's physically very demanding as a loader/unloader and delivery/pickup driver. It's all timed . So unless you're in your 20s or early 30s , it would be very rough at the beginning.

Once you have enough senority to get the tractor trailer gig, it's downhill from there. Pickup and drop . No package handlings. You paid your dues. But by the time they get there, most guys already have back and knee problems from years of lifting boxes and getting on and off the delivery trucks.

Health care was excellent. As a single guy, I paid nothing and had a PPO plan plus dental and vision . 401K was great. Tons of overtime plus employee stock options. And retirement was 75% after 25 years of service.

Talked to a UPS delivery driver from SoCal last week. He said their current contract tops out at $39 hr. for delivery/pickup drivers.

I would not hesitate to take those jobs if I was in my 20s or early 30s. After 40 , forget it. Too rough on the body.

Both companies treat their employees extremely well.

Short answer, it depends.

In the past, you were hired part-time for "Pre-Load", as an example. Then you could work your way into "driving". Kind of like being on probation.

My wife retired from UPS a few years back but we still stay in touch were her old supervisor, a.k.a. "supe'". In our area of SW PA they are hiring directly to full-time package-car driver. This is due to the package volume brought on by on-line shopping. Basically, you complete a course in driving the package car and voila! You're a driver.

HTH.

Hard work, great healthcare and benefits, crazy hours. Package drivers typically have knee problems in their mid forties. It is not an easy job by any means. My cousin works for UPS but in middle management. Different kind of stress there. Works six days a week including Sundays.

quote:

Originally posted by curnarski:
In our area of SW PA they are hiring directly to full-time package-car driver. This is due to the package volume brought on by on-line shopping. Basically, you complete a course in driving the package car and voila! You're a driver.

Same thing here in Central AZ. Hiring straight into full time “browns” package drivers. Since COVID our driver says he has been working Christmas hours (60+ per week). They are trying to get FT browns positions filled, just so they can start filling seasonal positions. Starting pay right now in my area is $26 if you’re hired on as a FT brown. Factor that you’ll be getting 20 hours if OT every week for at minimum, the next three months or more. It’s pretty good pay. I would jump on it if I were younger.

Thanks all. I am not in my 30s anymore but that may not be a deal breaker. Wage and benefits are the kicker. I’m pretty healthy, not having to many years of manual labor jobs or accidents.

Be prepared to be overworked and micro managed to the extreme. I retired from the other company that’s not brown. We had it damn good compared to the UPS guys I got to know over the years. The best jobs are the line haul jobs. Hauling freight in a tractor trailer from distribution point to distribution point. The home delivery/pick up routes can be brutal. Way too much to do and way too little time to do it is a gross understatement. You will be expected to pull rabbits out you’re ass daily.

I’m also interested in the other company. Thanks.

Both companies are hiring drivers off the street. If it were me I'd look at getting my CDL and working for FedEx Freight. UPS Couriers top out higher than FedEx Express Couriers but FedEx treats their employees better without the Union IMHO.

I work for a competitor, but I’ve spoken with enough with UPS drivers to know the drill. You have to earn your way through the ranks. They have crazy, insane benefits though. The UPS driver I currently interact with is off more then he works. Probably 25+ yrs in UPS though.

One thing to realize is this will not be an “8hr job”. You will work until you are done. And more than likely you will also have overtime, not only did to package volume, but if another driver calls off from work. It can be very difficult on your family, but the pay and benefits are good.

I have a good friend who just went through the process of becoming a UPS driver in the past few months. He had a connection who referred him, signed on with the Teamsters and then got put into the queue to be trained with another driver. Did that for a few weeks, then went into a probationary period for about a month. At the end of the month he got cut for not meeting their metrics on speed, delivery times, etc. A few weeks later got hired by FedEx, non-union. Not sure yet how that is going for him.

I have a work related connection with UPS on the management side so perhaps a different perspective will help round out the conversation.

Yes, you start off in the hub. You will be doing package sorts - zip codes determine the routing location - in a quick basis lifting packages that can weigh up to 75 lbs. You'll be doing that work at a quick pace since moving freight is the name of the game.

You can then work your way up to pre-load which is stuffing the trucks with the daily loads.

From there you can put in to be a driver but it's competitive. You've seen how they work so it doesn't require an explanation. 75 lbs lifting requirement.

After you accumulate even more seniority you can put in for line haul - moving trailers between terminals as required. No packages but you will drop and pickup trailers several times a day. This is not a job for a new driver since it's bid on seniority and since it's a cushy job compared to the others, very few of these jobs are open. At this level you are making very good money and you don't want to give it up. Some drivers end up with 3M miles and most are easily over 1M.

Transfer between terminals does indeed zero out your union seniority but not your UPS seniority. This has nothing to do with UPS but rather is something the union wants. Here's why. If you have high seniority at your terminal and then transfer to a new one to the same job, you are in effect bumping down or displacing someone who already has that job. Union members don't like that when another newbie member transfers in and takes a job. Keyed cars send messages so that's why seniority is lost because it keeps the peace.

You might get a job loading or unloading air cans which are the containers used in airline freight and you might be Red Labels which are the overnight envelopes.

The benefits are great and the pay is very good too. It's not a job for the timid and you need to be hustler since every little bit of efficiency helps increase the bottom line that allows those great benefits.

It's a good company to work for but they are paying for you labor and your body might take a hit from it so accurately figure out if you can do the work. Not everything weights 75 lbs, of course but your job description will require it.

The UPS guys I knew said they got little support from their union. They negotiated good pay and benefits for them but it stopped there. I would meet a UPS guy at the same locations I would be at (hospital or manufacturing place) and he was obviously so sick he could barely function. I asked him what the hell he was running his route for being that ill. He said they had no one to cover his route so it was either come in do you're route or get a disciplinary letter in his file which affected his future pay raise. Three letters for infractions and you were done.

I felt bad for him so I started helping him load his pick up freight in his truck as we were at docks right next to each other. He told me not to said they never know when a manager is parked down the block timing them or watching them. If they seen him getting help that would add to his troubles. Maybe things have changed some but man that's some brutal shit.

You need to take into account the stress on your back and knees. In and out of the package truck countless times per day, dogs, difficult customers, ability to go long periods without using the bathroom and the fact that the brown package trucks often break down on the route. If you attain seniority it can be very cushy although you often work night shift driving freight between hubs. It is as difficult as casino valet where few over 36 years can do the job with the constant running.

Very good info, thanks. It’s looking like it’s not for me.

20+ year UPSer here. Hired on at 36. Some of what I've read here is common throughout UPS while a couple of comments are applicable only locally so you should talk with UPSers in your area if that's possible.

Dan

Email if you like. I'm a lazy and indifferent typist at best but we can swap phone numbers and I'll answer what questions I can. KBob (none of this) Oso Aries (nor this) at me.com

It's not an easy job. Every single day is a hustle unless you're in the boonies. From the time you start to the time you finished. No such thing as a bad day as you still have to make your numbers. Don't hit your numbers for a couple of days and you'll have to answer to that. Managers run reports every morning for the previous day. Miss your numbers for a week and you're given 30 days to improve and keep it consistent or hit the door. They definitely do not give you a truck and a fuel card to cruise around.