While more than half of U.S. consumers would still rather shop in brick-and-mortar stores, according to research from customer engagement specialist Emarsys, there's no denying the rise of e-commerce in today's digital age. So what happens when a major player is taken out of the game? That's the question Americans now have to consider as a strike among unionized workers for the United Parcel Service looms.
The union gave UPS a Friday deadline to come to the table with its "last, best, and final offer" or risk a strike by Aug. 1.
Teamsters general president Sean M. O'Brien did not sound optimistic, saying in a statement that "the largest single-employer strike in American history now appears inevitable."
Despite the Teamsters having reached consensus on 55 non-economic issues with the company on June 19, UPS has continued to seek a cost-neutral contract during economic negotiations. The world’s largest delivery company that raked in more than $100 billion in revenue last year has made it clear to its union workforce that it has no desire to reward or respectfully compensate UPS Teamsters for their labor and sacrifice. During the past week, UPS returned an appalling counterproposal to the union’s financial package, offering miniscule raises and wage cuts to traditional cost-of-living adjustments. (Teamsters)
"Executives at UPS, some of whom get tens of millions of dollars a year, do not care about the hundreds of thousands of American workers who make this company run," O'Brien claimed. "They don't care about our members' families. UPS doesn't want to pay up. Their actions and insults at the bargaining table have proven they are just another corporation that wants to keep all the money at the top. Working people who bust their asses every single day do not matter, not to UPS."
The statement warned that a strike would cause "devastating disruptions to the supply chain in the U.S. and other parts of the world."
In 2020, UPS said it "transports more than three percent of global GDP and about six percent of U.S. GDP daily." Competitors FedEx and the U.S. Postal Service would not be able to absorb the shipping giant's nearly 20 million packages delivered each day, Bloomberg reported.
In a statement on Wednesday, UPS said there needs to be "give-and-take from both sides" and that it is "at the table ready to negotiate."
Concessions the Teamsters have gotten so far from UPS include new trucks with air conditioning starting in 2024. Additionally, UPS agreed "not to introduce drones, driverless vehicles or platooning for the duration of the new contract, and to allow warehouse workers to carry personal phones without first seeking permission from management," according to Bloomberg.