Possible UPS strike

[Tradd]

I would assume most in the US have heard about the possible UPS strike at the end of the month, but maybe not. If you regularly order from a place that ships UPS, plan ahead. Don’t count on businesses being able to switch to Fedex. They’ve already said they will only take business customers who ship this week, last I read. For personal shipments, both Fedex and the post office are probably going to be swamped if the strike happens, so don’t ship during the strike if you can avoid it. I’ve been in logistics for 30 years. I remember the last UPS strike in 1997. It was a mess. Shipment volume has since gone through the roof due to e-commerce. I’m a customs broker and have customers bringing in stuff from overseas with UPS. We’ve already advised them to ship regular air freight.

[rosarugosa]

Thanks for the heads-up, Tradd.

[iris lilies]

No, I did not know about this.


I don’t have anything that has to come via mail from Amazon. When I lived in the city of St. Louis, the Amazon delivery trucks delivered Amazon packages, but here in my tiny town it’s FedEx.

[happystuff]

We were just discussing this at work today. Interesting that folks are starting to strike now. (Writers, actors, UPS)

[Tradd]

We were just discussing this at work today. Interesting that folks are starting to strike now. (Writers, actors, UPS)

I listen to BBC Radio online daily. Doctors, nurses, ambulance crews, teachers, train crews, and God knows who else has been striking in the UK for close to a year. Seems like the entire UK is on strike. Oh, can’t forget Royal Mail.

[flowerseverywhere]

This will do tremendous damage to other businesses. I just wish we did not have to get piles of junk mail every day. If they would strike against sending political mail until the end of the next election that would be good.
Our mail is delivered by contractors. They constantly change and !mistakes are numerous. Out of my control but I always feel bad for small businesses who always seem to have one roadblock after another, like covid, lack of good workers, and now even more difficulty to get what they need.
What are they asking for?

[Tradd]

This will do tremendous damage to other businesses. I just wish we did not have to get piles of junk mail every day. If they would strike against sending political mail until the end of the next election that would be good.
Our mail is delivered by contractors. They constantly change and !mistakes are numerous. Out of my control but I always feel bad for small businesses who always seem to have one roadblock after another, like covid, lack of good workers, and now even more difficulty to get what they need.
What are they asking for?

It’s UPS, not the post office (USPS), that might go on strike.

[flowerseverywhere]

It’s UPS, not the post office (USPS), that might go on strike.

Duh. I read too fast. Well in my area there are lots of fed ex deliveries too. Carry on.

[Tradd]

Duh. I read too fast. Well in my area there are lots of fed ex deliveries too. Carry on.

If the businesses you buy from ship UPS and don’t switch to Fedex now, that’s a problem.

[Tradd]

I know a number of dive shops that have ordered extra inventory to have on hand in case of a strike. They get a lot of their inventory via UPS. My new wet suit just arrived today via UPS. I’ve seen a lot of people on FB talking about ordering stuff now, on things they had been holding off a bit on. Something like 6% of the US GDP moves via UPS.

[Greg44]

I too remember the last strike - it was crazy. The big difference back then was we didn't have as many options. Now most of our suppliers use multiple carriers. I work for a small internet company that ships about 100+ packages a day. Our primary out bound shipper is USPS and FedEx ground. We use to ship a lot UPS, but their rates are the highest. So for the most part they literally only get a few of our parcels a day. Now our incoming is completely different. Probably 60% of our inbound is freight - maybe more is UPS and the balance is FedEx. This will overwhelm all the carriers, it will slow down the already taxed system.

[jp1]

Apparently they have reached a deal.

[Tradd]

Apparently they have reached a deal.

Still has to be voted on

[jp1]

True. Although it sounds like they pretty much got everything they asked for, although who knows. The devil is in the details.