“Game time!”
An hour ago, Toney Frank was reminding his crew this is Founder’s Day — UPS’s 106th birthday. In two days, if all goes well, his team will hit another milestone — 30,000 safe workdays — which will call for a party.
Frank asks his crew members what they’d like to grill.
“Steak,” they reply in unison — before bursting into laughter. The Atlanta air division manager shakes his head.
“What is steak?” he asks. “Chopped beef.” If they hit their goal, they plan to celebrate with burgers.
For now, there’s work to be done. His starting call is the cue: Dozens of workers in yellow vests begin to zip between planes. Semis arrive. Armored vehicles pull up to the jets with “high-value cargo,” better known as cash.
Most nights, four UPS planes fly out of Atlanta – three to Louisville, Kentucky, and one to Philadelphia. It’s a small operation compared to the hub in Kentucky, but the pressure is real.
Sometimes they carry something special, like live whales or terra-cotta figures; most nights it’s mail, flowers, floor samples, lobsters – whatever comes in from Atlanta’s workday and has to be somewhere fast.
Packages are tagged, secured, weighed and collected in massive containers designed for
Article source: http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2013/11/travel/atl24/ If you need a cheap air ticket, hotel or rental car please visit http://www.airticket.com
