You know, as a general rule it is a fact that UPS can replace people at the drop of a hat. But there's really one position that there aren't too many of (in my building, anyways), and that's the pick-off position.
There are 9 metros and 9 pick-offs, and each handle anywhere from 6,000 to 9,000+ packages on a daily basis. The ones that handle the higher end of 7,500 and onwards to 9,000+ every day without ANY help (especially the ones that can sort through all their smalls bags without assistance) over the course of a shift that is as short as 4 hours (where most of the volume is coming down in the span of only 2 of those hours) are worth gold to the operation.
They're more valuable and rare than just about every other position in the building (drivers included). Think about it, there are about 250 drivers, give or take, on bid routes, tons of TCD trained part-timers, lots of preloaders, lots of unloaders, a minimum of 16 SPA people (and more trained to do it with a good level of proficiency), etc. And then about half of those pick-offs actually CAN'T do everything by themselves and basically destroy their metros if they're left to their own devices without assistance throughout the day, and they STILL have their positions because it's hard enough just to get someone who can pick-off the regular, non-smalls volume. It's interesting, really. I don't know if management just isn't tapping into the workforce deep enough to get a better talent pool to train pick-offs or what.
To illustrate one of the experienced pick-offs that can do everything the vast majority of the time by themselves was terminated recently, and that metro has been SUFFERING since then with management trying to train a new pick-off that has a little bit of experience picking on Saturdays (which is a whole different animal volume-wise). I've been pulled from my regular metro to cover that metro for Prime week because otherwise it would go down in flames every day. Just last week the experienced pick-off for another metro was on vacation and the metro suffered for that as well. Supervisors off-picking to assist the replacement and costing the company even more money on top of the double-handling for missorts, etc.
I'm the self-proclaimed supervisors working grievance king and full-time supervisors vie for me to come to their problem metro to pick-off for them. That's how much a good pick-off is worth, that supervisors are willing to eat grievances just so they don't have to worry about their pick-off position. Yes, I have the heaviest pull in the building (a lot of the time) and do it like I'm asleep.
Oh, and I'm sure
@Maple Grove MN Driver will step in and say something about "blah blah blah, part-time workers are useless and replaceable, blah blah blah" but I GUARANTEE that if he tried to pick-off even the lightest volume metro in the building he'd be crying uncle after the first day. The first 10 minutes of the first day.
ed its future. When they push free education and ask "who should pay for it?" Well, 
