HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Over 400 Guam residents have left the island and are living in Denver after accepting positions with United Airlines, according to a report that has been verified by local officials working for United.
According to The Denver Post, United Airlines filled over 460 ramp agent positions through the two-day job fair that was held in January on Guam.
Magda Morais, managing director of talent and acquisitions at United, said in the article that her team had a hard time recruiting ramp agents in the Denver market, so they had “to get creative.”
The Guam Daily Post files indicated that Matt Miller, vice president for the airline’s Denver hub, along with 40 United employees, traveled for the fair to facilitate in the recruitment of 1,800 new employees.
“Denver is currently one of the largest hubs that we have at United. But, more importantly, it is the fastest growing. We are fully staffed in Denver as it is today, but what we are doing is building for the growth we see coming this summer,” Miller said at the time of the job fair.
The Denver Post reported 2,600 people on Guam applied, which resulted in “more than 460 passing the clearance process.”
One of those hires was Anthony Meno, who, according to The Denver Post, was a retired law enforcement officer who “seized the chance to work as a ramp agent in Denver, relocating from his homeland of Guam to do so.”
“I couldn’t see myself just sitting around,” he told The Denver Post. “I’ve always wanted to go to Denver. I’ve always wanted to relocate to a different location.”
The Denver Post reported that Meno began his move to Colorado in April and is now focused on building his career.
Post files said Guam residents who were hired were offered the opportunity to move to Denver and given a $25,000 relocation bonus.
The Denver Post noted that wages for entry-level employees started off at around $20 an hour with the potential to move up the pay scale and earn up to $90,000 annually.
Miller, at the time of the job fair, told The Guam Daily Post that those hired would be able to transfer to different hubs if a position became available, which means that the hires could return to Guam in the future.
A United Airlines plane comes in for a landing at the A.B. Won Pat International Airport on Dec. 19, 2022.
