Feeder drivers, is UPS the place to begin a career?

[rod]

Understood Sirs. Thank you for the information. On a side note, my good ol’ Dad helped me get approved to finance a 2015 Freightliner Cascadia Sleeper. So that’ll be sitting in the driveway in case UPS doesn’t work out.

Do not get it twisted, I do not trust UPS with my career or job stability. Therefore I have made a point to obtain as many pre-hire offers as possible with other freight carriers.

A man with a plan——a rarity nowadays.

 

[MisplacedRailWorker]

A man with a plan——a rarity nowadays.

It’s in my railroad genes. Your employment is at will- and only a number. Mine is 462***6.

 

[MisplacedRailWorker]

Only 21 and already so smart. I’m impressed. Your parents must be proud.

If I make book, I’ll tell you stories that’ll have you keeling over laughing. Trust me I’m not much smarter than your typical SWIFTer. In fact I enter every PCM and start off with “Sir, what did I up today?”

 

[1080Driver]

I was on the feeder list for 16 years when I finally got called. At that point, I passed on it and stayed in package.

 

[BigTennessee]

For feeder driver bids, does the JAX Florida hub hire only package drivers or will they accept package handlers also?

I already have a CDL A license and have 2 years experience driving with it.

 

[Indecisi0n]

I want to be on a sleeper team with @RonBurgandy??????????

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

I want to be on a sleeper team with @RonBurgandy??????????

I heard he lifts.

 

[burrheadd]

I want to be on a sleeper team with @RonBurgandy??????????

Top or bottom

 

[Indecisi0n]

Top or bottom

Depends,where did we eat lunch?

 

[burrheadd]

Depends,where did we eat lunch?

He eats a lot of pizza and wings

 

[Indecisi0n]

He eats a lot of pizza and wings

Mild or hot wings?

 

[Rick Ross]

I want to be on a sleeper team with @RonBurgandy??????????

That would bring new meaning to the feeder term "hot loads".

 

[Special UPS Operator]

Most of the guys here have failed to point out that there is another route:
Get your CDL

Sign a driver intention form (Big hubs will maximize your chances)

Wait for a call from HR saying u r good for feeder training

Learn the study materials they give you

Go to training

Voila you are a feeder driver.

 

[WTFm8]

Do they hire package car drivers off the street?

Yes. I’m 1 of 5 package car “street-hires” in the last year in my building. 2 quit within 3 weeks of starting the 30 mandatory inside work days prior to driving.

My building is short staffed, the building manager was ‘forcing’ them to do their 30 days consecutively instead of within 90 days and they both had fulltime jobs.

 

[AlliSeeisBrown]

UPS is the only place to begin and end a career. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

 

[MisplacedRailWorker]

Update 2020:

I hired on shortly after creating this post. Tues-Sat Package Car driver out of NYMNS. Best days of my life. Drove for 3 years before leaving for the railroad, which was my goal since middle school. Currently a Locomotive Engineer at Amtrak, this is the place I wanted to be.

Our crafts are similar in many ways except I don't have a guarantee. You could work 3 hours one week and the next you max out your HOS and "die on the law" (stop train, secure consist, wait hours for crew van to arrive with relief engineer and assistant engineer). My advice to anyone looking to leave UPS for a railroad job is STOP. DISMOUNT. Or you can get used to doing exactly that, on-and-off railcars in a customer's yard at 3am every Sunday for 6 months a year. You will miss UPS. I did until I got extremely lucky and got the federal job (well, quasi-federal).

Amtrak is the golden employer out on the rails. Again I got extremely lucky. Working for the freights is not for the faint of, well, wallet. Amtrak is subsidized and doesn't lay-off. Major freight RRs have shareholders to answer to and are very creative at reducing operating costs (you). I worked for two Class 1 freight railroads, at the same time actually. Ask me anything you like about that.

I don't know why but I still log on here daily.

 

[Johney]

How in the hell has Amtrak not laid anyone off during the Covid-19 crap? The freight rails gotta be kicking ass with all the freight moving, but people traveling by train? I haven't seen an Amtrak train on our rails in weeks. I ain't buying it.

 

[MisplacedRailWorker]

How in the hell has Amtrak not laid anyone off during the Covid-19 crap? The freight rails gotta be kicking ass with all the freight moving, but people traveling by train? I ain't buying it.

We have 49 years of experience operating at a yearly loss of over $1 billion... this is nothing new for us.

 

[MisplacedRailWorker]

Also Precision Scheduled Railroading = longer trains, fewer crews, and less frequency... management at NS didn't get that fat by being generous.

 

[Wally]

How in the hell has Amtrak not laid anyone off during the Covid-19 crap? The freight rails gotta be kicking ass with all the freight moving, but people traveling by train? I haven't seen an Amtrak train on our rails in weeks. I ain't buying it.

Tax dollars baby.

Our local government is giving workers paid leave. I'm sure the state is doing the same.