Just started at UPS

[nhannan1980]

I have a couple of questions. My first question is how long does it usually take to become a driver? Then, my other question is how good is the retirement at UPS, I have heard mixed emotions on it?
Sincerely,
The Newbie

[hoser]

a) depends on where you are. my centre hires drivers externally. some places its 5 months. some places its 5 years. ask your co-workers and union rep. don't ask your supervisor, they don't know very much (although some will posture themselves as if they do)
b) don't put all your eggs into one basket. save your money. don't spend it all and expect a union pension to be your knight in shining armour. devote 3% of every pay into a 401k or whatever the Americans call their registered retirement savings plan.

and about the emotions, leave them in the parking lot at UPS. your tenure will go by way better if you do so.

[diesel96]

Originally Posted by nhannan1980

I have a couple of questions. My first question is how long does it usually take to become a driver? Then, my other question is how good is the retirement at UPS, I have heard mixed emotions on it?
Sincerely,
The Newbie

1)How long to become a driver?
A)Depends what status Driver..Full Time Driver or Part Time Cover Driver.

Find out from your Part time Steward where the senority bid list are posted for F/T drivers and P/T Cover Drivers..Steward should have an idea how long it would take you to move up in your particular bldg.


2)How good retirement is at UPS?
A)Don't know yet,not retired...maybe a retiree can expand on that issue better than me.
B)Retirement plans may differ from one contract to the next,and from one state to another state.

[NHDRVR]

Depends on the Center....Ours is about 5 years. At the time, I got in after 2.

Retirement benefits? Depends also....What they are getting now isn't what will be there when you or I are able to collect. The business section of any newspaper will show how attitudes towards pensions etc., are changing toward personal retirement funds. Contrary to some opinions out there "PENSIONS ARE NOT GURANTEED" Read your Locals conratct and find where it says you are going to be given a guaranteed pension when you leave UPS. Saying your getting one from your steward doesn't mean anything. Both sides need to have open lines of communication and the good business sense to allocate money for the employees to have a decent retirement package. I want to get a pension but if you ask around my Center, and I have, most believe your 401k is the only thing you can count on. The majority of us think it won't be there. If you plan on NOT getting it....It will be a great benefit if you do.

[MR_Vengeance]

Originally Posted by nhannan1980

I have a couple of questions. My first question is how long does it usually take to become a driver? Then, my other question is how good is the retirement at UPS, I have heard mixed emotions on it?
Sincerely,
The Newbie

i like your avater, that's how you gonna look like when you step into the pkg car after you became a UPS driver.

[big_arrow_up]

In our small extended center the average wait time for full-time driving is 5 years. Meaning..we have some drivers that worked part-time as little as one to two years and some that waited 4-6 years. I'm sitting on 6 years in my current building (and counting) and am close to going full-time. The hubs are different. It takes much longer because the part-timer/full-timer ratio is much higher. Meaning....for every full-timer there are maybe eight part-timers waiting for full-time.

[Fredless]

The part timer retirement fund is doing just fine.
The full timer retirement fund is the one you're going to hear mixed opinions on. Fact of the matter on theirs is that its just like social security, more people are drawing on it than are paying into it.

In my hub it takes about 2-3 years to get a full time driver bid acknowledgement. About 80 years to get a full time 22.3 bid acknowledgement.

[upsman415]

As for being a full time driver depends on your hub. Sometimes its fast but most of the time take years. For retirement, i talked to some drivers that retired already and they are doing good. But some are still looking for partime jobs,because they are still young. And having a 401K helps alot they said...