ATLANTA, May 21 /PRNewswire/ -- In the 18 months since corporate America
was asked by President Clinton to step up to the plate in hiring people from
welfare to work, UPS hired more than 10,400 men and women from public
assistance.  The company's efforts account for more than two-thirds of
President Clinton's initial goal of 15,000 jobs.
    "The innovation, adaptability and flexibility of UPS in moving people from
welfare to work in the Philadelphia area is to be commended," according to
Philadelphia Mayor Edward Rendell.  "The commitment by UPS both to meet its
work force needs and to meet the needs of people who want to work has resulted
in extraordinary private/public partnerships that overcome common barriers."

    These partnerships include:
    -- Developing a transportation system with New Jersey Transit to bring
       people from Camden, N.J. to the UPS Philadelphia Air Hub.
    -- Working with  Jobs Etc. in Schenectady, N.Y. to recruit qualified
       candidates for UPS.  In turn, UPS provides instructors to teach weekly
       job readiness classes.
    -- Working with the Center for New Horizons in the Chicago area to provide
       job readiness training and ongoing job coaching.  UPS will be receiving
       an award in June for this program from the Center.

    "There is no one-size-fits-all model for a successful Welfare to Work
program.  We discovered that a critical element to our programs is forming
partnerships.  To the extent UPS programs are successful, it is because we are
finding willing partners in local government, local welfare and support
agencies, churches, foundations and civic organizations," says Lea Soupata,
UPS Senior Vice President of Human Resources.
    With 25 years experience in hiring people on public assistance, UPS has
taken an active role as a founding member of President Clinton's Welfare to
Work Partnership, an association of corporations formed in 1997 that pledged
to take leading roles in helping people move from a welfare check to a
paycheck.   As part of the partnership, UPS is sharing its welfare to work
best practices to encourage other corporations to participate.
    "Partnering with local, state and community agencies to bring people from
welfare to work has been a hallmark of UPS," said Eli Segal, President of the
Welfare to Work Partnership.  "The efforts and results of UPS over the last
two decades and the continued commitment to hiring people from public
assistance are precisely what we seek from corporate America to build
opportunity for all our citizens."
    Each person hired through Welfare to Work receives the same compensation
and benefits package as other UPS employees holding the same job.  The average
starting salary is $8.50 an hour for a part-time package sorter (the position
most new employees initially fill).  The benefits package for all UPS
employees, both full and part time, covers the employees' families and
includes full health care coverage.
    UPS is the largest package delivery company in the world, serving more
than 200 countries and territories and delivering more than 12 million
packages every working day with an unmatched array of product options and
commitment to service.  Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., the company employs
326,000 and had 1997 revenues of $22.5 billion.

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