UPS

I've been working at the UPS airport sorting center for about a month and a half. I start at 4:45 am and we are usually done by 7. I've been moved around a bit but that has given me a pretty good idea of how the operation runs, at least on the inside. Three planes come in each morning. One or two of them have already landed and most of their cargo is inside by the time we arrive. The goal is to have it all sorted and on the right truck or plane by 7.

For the first couple of weeks I was on unload. It's a good workout to take everything from inside the cans and put them on a belt. We are supposed to set each package on the belt. In reality, the only packages that are set on the belt are the ones that are too heavy to toss.

From there the packages go to the primary sorting area where all the packages get sent to one of the 5 outgoing belts. This is the one area where I have not worked but I've heard rumors that you have to pass a zip code test to work there.  The bags of envelopes and smaller packages are dumped into chutes in the small sort area where I did work for a couple of weeks. The packages are sorted into small boxes (of which there are 40 to chose from - though several of them are double.) I got a lesson in Minnesota geography. For each sorter there are two baggers who double check that every package is headed to the right place, put them in bags and tag it before sending the bag to the primary sorting area. Baggers get paid an extra dollar an hour because they have to be rapid and accurate. They are the only ones whose miss-sorts can be traced back to them. While I was working in that area, I was often sent over to help load the truck headed for Rochester. The main loader needs to scan each one and get them loaded in an orderly and compact manner. When the packages come at a relentless pace it can be really hard to keep up without help.

Last week I was moved to one of the outgoing belts. I'm at the beginning of the belt so I'm to make sure all the addresses are facing up and sorted to one side of the belt or the other so it is easier for those down the line to pull the ones they are responsible for. I'm to pull the ones that go to International Falls and Grand Rapids, scan them and load them into separate cans. Neither can gets very full so I don't have to be very careful about how it is packed. Bags go in one corner with the heaviest packages on another side as they need to be loaded into the plane first. The only other thing that needs to be kept separate is anything with hazardous materials or dry ice. The men I work with have been helpful in teaching me the ropes and when I miss a package they just bring it back to me. The challenge is that my cans are the first that need to go and there is always a flurry of activity at the end. I've had to fill out the paperwork as it's being pulled away and once there was no time to enter in the code for a couple of packages that wouldn't scan so they just got thrown in.

Once the cans go, we bundle up and go outside to load the small feeder planes. This was my favorite time of the work day when I first started since we were able to the sunrise. Now it's still dark when we finish. I'm looking forward to the end of January when the days are a bit longer and we can see the sunrise again. During the winter, there is an added job of "pulling cords." All the small planes are plugged in which means lots of yards of extension cords need to be pulled back to the cart behind the generator and hung up. Those cords get heavy but it's a great way to quickly warm up the hands.

I'm enjoying my work and think I've found a spot on the purple belt. I'm usually in bed by 8 so I can get 8 hours of sleep. The bummer is that my body has gotten used to waking up early so even on Sunday I'm awake before 5.