And what it may mean for your next delivery.
A clash between UPS and the Teamsters Union has set the stage for what could be one of the biggest strikes in U.S. history. We’ve got the lowdown on the dispute and what it may mean for your next delivery.
What’s happening?
Contract negotiations between UPS and the Teamsters aren’t set to begin until next year, but labor experts say the union’s 350,000 drivers and package handlers are already preparing for a strike. The union is pushing for better overtime protections, a bump in pay for part-time workers, and air conditioning in delivery trucks. (Calls for better working conditions grew louder among UPS employees after the death of a 24-year-old driver in California, who died this summer after suffering heat stroke while on the job.)
Ready to strike
The surge in online shopping through the pandemic has been a boon for UPS, which reported record profits last year. But, as the union’s new president Sean O’Brien told CNN, “everyone keeps getting richer except for our members.”
O’Brien was elected earlier this year by vowing to take an aggressive stance with UPS in order to win better pay and benefits in their next contract. And he’s made it clear that he’s ready to play hardball: O’Brien has said that the Teamsters have a $300 million fund to pay union members in the case they do go on strike.
“Our union is resolved to win the best contract for UPS members and to reset the standards for wages and benefits in this industry by August 1, 2023. We won’t extend negotiations by a single day. We’ll either have a signed agreement that day or be hitting the pavement,” O’Brien said in a statement.
What a UPS strike means for deliveries
A UPS strike would be felt across the country. The company moves an estimated 6 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product each year — completing millions of home deliveries as well as shipments to stores and factories.
The last time UPS went on strike was in 1997, when the online retail sector was a sliver of the size it is now. The two-week protest hamstrung small businesses that relied on the service to keep shelves stocked, but a strike next summer would cause a major disruption in home deliveries.
