If you like being worked harder than you have ever seen in your life for very little pay then this slave pen is for you.

all these comments about over paid union workers are total BS . Picture this as a ramp/baggage agent working a flight your starting wage is $10.5/hr , you are responsible for EVERY aircraft , bag you touch , IF something ever happened .. you , your crew and EVERYBODY that touched that aircraft that day will be grilled endlessly by federal agencies. So you better put what training you are given to use an stick to it.

IF you can survive your first 3 years at the piss poor wages and the extreme physical wear induced on you .. you too will become a very very bitter person.
for 10.50 an hr your out in the rain , sleet , snow , extreme cold , heat , wind ... slugging bags all day , some of those bags can weight alot , you are required to be able to lift up to 70 lbs , usually ON your knees in a hold bent over ..whats it like ? crawl under your desk or kitchen table an pick up 2 bags of kids play sand ... now do that 150-200 + ( average # of bags per flight) times per hour for 8 solid hours. on some shift schedules 6 days a week and because your so tired your days off are usually spent trying to recover. your social / personal life becomes a thing of luxury , for get about holidays like christmas ... while your family is at home sitting in front of the warm fire eating a nice dinner or your kids are opening their presents ... your at work , you cant afford to take a day off .

your inhaling enormous amounts of fumes from aircraft , various machinery

managers are always crawling around and will jump at ANY opportunity to breath down your neck about even the smallest thing , very very few will have any spine left to congratulate you on a good job or even thank you , those that do usually dont last more than 6 months .

simply put ... your an employee with a number - to the company your are a machine ... when machines start to loose performance they are discarded and new ones are trained to replace them an the cycle is repeated.

at the ramp/baggage level you can move up once and still stay in the union to a lead hand .... but you also become a big target for management , your scrutinized for everything. to go higher than that your not protected by the union when you reach management level and your job security becomes very very slim.

Turn around rate is very high ... the door doesnt stop spinning

So next time you fly ( any company not just this one ) and you look out your window and see that person with the wands walking at the end of the wing as you depart from your gate... think of this post ... he/she likely makes about as much as a the person behind the counter at the restaurant you bought your food from and your life , safety is in his/her hands until your at your next destination on the ground picking up your bag again.

our job function may not require much skill to do but the level of responsibility , work load , danger factor ( 2nd most dangerous in the world next to mining ) vs the amount were paid is very insulting.

Posted on 14 September 2012 by Rater #168 | Flag as inappropriate

Was this review helpful? 32 14