Transfer Log

bemyers

Member
Just recently I received a scholarship to a University in the northern part of the state where I live. I have just about completed my general education requirements at the local community college. I've been with UPS for two years at the local UPS hub. I am now attempting to transfer to the hub in the city where I will be going to school. I've decided to keep a log as to how the transfer goes, which will end up with a successful transfer, or my retirement from UPS.

I've looked up several other postings and have noticed some UPSers have successfully transfered, while others have not.

Here is the log so far:

January 24, 2008 -

Received scholarship, that day at work I go to HR and ask them about transfers, the guy I talk to tells me to see my manager. After the sort I tell my full-time manager that I'll be transferring to another school in August. He says that they only do educational transfers. I tell him that school is education. He says I need to write a letter, and that I should do so as soon as possible, as the center that I want to transfer to is small, and I should get my name on their list as soon as possible.

January 25, 2008 -

I write a letter explaining my intent to transfer. I give it to my manager, who takes it to HR, he then comes back and says I got to fill out this paperwork which he gives me, the paperwork says I need an acceptance letter, some required signatures, and other information. I say okay, I'll fill this out. My full-time manager seems somewhat helpful at this point.

February 1, 2008 -

My full-time manager changes jobs, now I have to deal with a new guy that I don't know as well.

February 6, 2008 -

I get all my paperwork in order and walk into HR. I ask them who is responsible for transfers, they tell me. I talk to the "Workforce Planning Manager" and get some information cleared up about the transfer process. He tells me which signatures I need to get on my paperwork, and tells me that my manager needs to send him an email or letter recommending me for transfer. He also tells me about the center I want to transfer to, and it's local sort has only 7 part time guys, so I'm wondering if I'm going to be able to transfer at all, but I'm happy that I'm at least getting the paperwork done 6 months before I have to transfer.

I bug my part-time supervisor about seeing my full-time manager, nothing gets done.

February 11, 2008 -

I see my full-time manager and tell him I need these signatures, and I need him to either send the workforce planning manager and email or letter outlining my work history. He said he never did anything like that when other guys transferred. I tell him this is what they're telling me. He takes my paperwork.

February 14, 2008 -

I pick up a photocopy of my paperwork and it has some signatures on it and the box marked "I recommend ____ for transfer" is checked. No letter outlining my work history is present.

February 18, 2008 -

I go to the workforce planning manager's office only to find that this guy has switched jobs too, and the new guy is not present.

February 20, 2008 -

I meet the new workforce planning manager, and he hasn't gotten any paperwork concerning my transfer. I make photocopies of my photocopied paperwork and give it to him. He tells me I still need a letter from my manager outlining my work history.

February 22, 2008 -

I tell my full-time manager that HR needs a letter outlining my work history, he says he never did that for any transfers in the past. I tell him that this is what the workforce planning manager is telling me I need. He gets impatient with me and walks away. I think to myself that this guy is a butt and walk in the other direction, I mean all the workforce planning manager needs is an email with maybe three sentences in it.

That's where I am now. I'm hoping this transfer works out, but I can't say I'm 100% confident that it will. More information to come.
 

raceanoncr

Well-Known Member
Sorry, but this sounds typical. Never been in your situation before but have had to try to get other things done. No one can pick up the ball and run with it.

You're doing good keeping log and doing exactly what you're told to do. Maybe in the end, show this to higher-ups just to show what a mess their people and process is in.
 

barnyard

KTM rider
Since I have been with the company, I have seen 2 people transfer in and 1 out. The way they described it, it was alot easier for them.

TB
 
ATTA BOY on the log. You should keep that going for the duration of your UPS career. If nothing else just to have in your old age to remind you how hard you worked at working. It could come in handy when the Alzheimers sets in.
 

trickpony1

Well-Known Member
I would call/write/visit the center manager at the building that you intend to transfer to immediately to inform him of your intent.
It sounds like the process at your building is getting bogged down by the classic "....the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing" methods of our company.
Take the initiative.
 

Overpaid Union Thug

Well-Known Member
I went to the top HR person at the hub I was working at. She helped me with all of it. The center I was transferring to was within our district so she was the one that had the final say for who gets hired for all of the surrounding buildings. All that was needed was a hand written letter from me stating that I wanted to transfer from "A" hub to the "B" center for educational purposes. The HR sup gave me a form for my immediate full-time sup in the hub to sign and then she got it approved with the center manager (not that she really needed it since she had the final say) at the center I wanted to transfer to. If someone is transferring out of district then the HR rep will have to touch base with the HR rep for the district they are transferring to. If there is an opening where you want to work then the process should be smooth. The only snags in the process are the immediate sups in the hub. They don't want to lose an employee and will do anything to stall or even stop the transfer. That was my problem. As soon as I realized my sup in the hub was doing this I reported her to the HR rep and, well, let's just say the HR rep wasn't happy about that and my transfer went smoothly from there.
 

bemyers

Member
It's good to hear that someone got a transfer. I'm staying in the same district as well, so I'm hoping that I don't have much more difficulty.
 

Overpaid Union Thug

Well-Known Member
It's good to hear that someone got a transfer. I'm staying in the same district as well, so I'm hoping that I don't have much more difficulty.

Just beware of you supervisor. As long as HR knows what they are doing the supervisor should be the only potential snag in the process. Get a copy of an acceptance letter to the university and you should be in there as long as there is an opening where you want to transfer. I hear some HRs require a copy of your class schedule as additional proof that you are transferring for educational purposes. The problem with that is that if you try and transfer way before a new semester begins enrollment then you won't be able to get a class schedule. Just mention that and I don't see how they could hold you back.
 

bemyers

Member
Alright I've got an update on the process.

2/27/2007
I emailed the the Workforce Planning Manager to find out my status on the transfer. He emails me back telling me that I'm on the list, and they will let me know when a position becomes available, if one does. I don't know if my manager ever wrote the letter he was supposed to, or if it mattered at all.

I won't be transferring till the summer time, and as it is a college town my hope is that one of the part timers there quits when school finishes, and I'll fill in the gap. In the mean time I suppose I'll try to get some contact information for the people up there.

I suppose there isn't much more I can do until May when I'll actually need to transfer.
 
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bemyers

Member
I hear some HRs require a copy of your class schedule as additional proof that you are transferring for educational purposes.
Yeah originally they were asking for a class schedule, but when I told them I couldn't register until April, they said an acceptance letter would be fine, which I turned in with the rest of my paperwork.
 
Here's a passing thought. In the mean time If you find yourself going to the town where the object center/hub is located, drop in just after the drivers leave for the day. That way you can introduce yourself to your prospective sups, maybe ask for a tour of the facilities.
 

bemyers

Member
Alright here's a new update.

February 28, 2007 -
The HR person for the facility I am transferring to calls me and leaves a message. I call her back and leave a message. She calls me back and asks me for the details on my transfer. I say that I want to transfer sometime between May 5th and the end of August, that I want to work on the Local Sort (5-10PM) as a part-time employee (all this information was on the transfer paperwork I filled out, but apparently no one sent her the information on the paperwork, only my contact information). She told me that they'd probably have job for me when I needed to transfer, and that she would call me back when May got closer.

So as of now everything looks pretty optimistic, I guess I'll know more as May approaches.
 

bemyers

Member
The transfer went through.

April 14, 2008 -
The HR lady responsible for hiring to my destination location calls. She says they will have a preload position open on April 28. I say that I don't graduate from junior college till May 2. She says maybe I could come in on May 5. I say that preload won't work with my schedule. She says that if I do want to transfer I need a letter from my manager (I though this had already been resolved). I don't won't to work preload anyway, so I don't worry about it.

April 21, 2008 -
The HR lady calls me again, she tells me that they now have a local sort position, on May 5th. I say I'll do it. She says she going on vacation, but she still needs a letter from my manager. That day at work I tell my manager he needs to write this letter. He gets really annoyed again, I tell him to talk to the workforce planning manager. I figure at this point if the transfer goes through I'll move. If not I put in my two weeks the day I was supposed to transfer.

April 24, 2008 -
I go into see the workforce planning manager. He says everything is set. I say that the HR lady was saying she needed a letter from management or something. He says he'll call her the following monday, as she is on vacation this week.

April 30, 2008 -
I call the HR lady and leave a message. I go in to talk to the workforce planning manager at work. He says they're expecting me on monday. I say that's great. He says the HR lady was just in his office and I just missed her.

April 31, 2008 -
The HR lady calls and leaves a message, saying to show up on monday. I call back and leave a message asking who my supervisor will be. She calls back and leaves a message and tells me the name of my supervisor.

May 3, 2008 -
I move the the destination town. It is a collge town, and summer housing doesn't open up for a few days. I move in with my brother, he lives in a fraternity house. The guys party all night long, I get no sleep. I want to move out of there as soon as possible.

May 5, 2008 -
I report to work. The building is extremely small compared to where I had previously worked. There are three other guys besides me working with the boxes. Two other guys do customer service and clerk. Everyone's really cool. It also turns out that they haven't hard a PT supervisor for over a year, but the same day I come in a PT supervisor transfers there as well. All the guys are worried cause they haven't had a supervisor for a long time, in fact they've been doing all the supervisor work themselves. Some of these guys didn't even know there was such a thing as PT supervisors. Some of the other guys are upset, because no one at the center even asked if any of the hourlys wanted a supervisor job, and apparently some of the guys on preload did.

The sort is pretty much a human movable conveyor belt that you put between the feeder and the package car. They go right accros with one guy unloading, one guy scanning, and one or two guys loading. The feeders only have one destination from this location, so it is impossible to misload (except loading local packages). I'm surprised to find that management is yelling at all. The whole place is totally different.

May 6, 2008 -
I found another place to live, but I can't move in til friday. So I've got three more nights at the fraternity house. Three more nights of hell. I guess I only have to sleep there, I'll hang out on campus the rest of the time.

Note -
The irony is that I was hoping that the transfer wouldn't go through so I could have an excuse to quit. Oh well. I'm going to try to find another job. I'm studying computer science, and I hope I can find a computer programming job. They have a space research facility here, and they might need a computer programmer. It will pay better than UPS. The last thing that I want is to be a lifer at UPS. I have vowed that I will not work one day past four years.
 
Wow nice to hear a successful transfer story.

I think there is a section on upsers.com with transfer information and forms. The acceptable reasons for transfer are very specific if I remember correctly:

Educational
Trailing Spouse
Marriage
Health

Lots of supporting documentation is required and lots of approvals and signatures as well.
 

Overpaid Union Thug

Well-Known Member
Transfers are a pain. It's amazing how the sups make something that should be so easy into something so difficult and frustrating. I've been through it. Several others in my center transferred in right after me and they went through it as well but their transfers went much smoother than mine because their sups weren't willing to stall, or even stop, transfers so that they wouldn't lose a body. The amount of crap I went through to get my transfer was more than worth it. If I had stayed where I was I'd still be waiting on a full-time job. Maybe even waiting to be a TCD.
 

SmithBarney

Well-Known Member
Welcome to Logan, UT
I tried to Transfer here with UPS, but because
I was in a different District it didn't pan out.
So FedEx it was...don't worry I'll try not to run you over on Campus.

Glad it worked for you.

Freeloader, I never heard of those four options for transfer,
I was basically given Hardship as an option, or education for P/T'rs
 
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