UPS shipping snafu - order now

I don’t know how many of you follow the news, but it might look a little bleek, UPS teamsters (Rank and file union works) have voted and authorized there union leadership to strike if a deal isn’t made in the coming few weeks.
What that means for us? If there is a strike nearly 7% gdp commerce is at stake, in other words we can see drastic wait times for other companies to pick up the slack UPS has left behind.
So if your on the fence with a diaper order, I would order now, have enough stock for a little while as insurance in case there’s a large shipping delay.

There is always Fed Ex & USPS also Greyhound Package Express and airline cargo to get your packages. Companies better get contingency plans in place now for Amazon who uses UPS SurePost They better get a new contract penned with the USPS or go with Fed Ex NOW!

Well luckily for me I recently went back to using XP medical for my monthly diaper deliveries I was using Amazon but then found I was able to get my normal case of diapers slightly cheaper through XP, the other thing I noticed is that XP now has rears Safari .

Good to know...I don't watch too much or listen to the news. I get regular shipment for business with UPS as a carrier. I can tell you first hand that they have been changing the way they do things and I've been considering switching all of my shipments to Fed Ex...this may be the deciding factor.

My understanding (and it adds up with a different driver regularly) that the drivers don't get the same route on a daily basis. They show up and are assigned a route/truck. My regular shipments are regularly screwed up.

Thanks for the UPS info

I really do not think they’ll strike. The current contract goes through July 31. UPS has too much market share to possibly lose this time around compared to 1997, the last time there was a strike. FedEx and usps will be able to absorb some of the volume. Obviously nowhere near all, but it would undoubtedly hurt UPS. When they come to an agreement, UPS is raising prices significantly from what I’ve read. FedEx will follow that trend just not at such a dramatic increase. Overall, I’m not worried about the strike itself but we, the end user, will end up paying for it.

bigbabygirl said:

Good to know...I don't watch too much or listen to the news. I get regular shipment for business with UPS as a carrier. I can tell you first hand that they have been changing the way they do things and I've been considering switching all of my shipments to Fed Ex...this may be the deciding factor.

My understanding (and it adds up with a different driver regularly) that the drivers don't get the same route on a daily basis. They show up and are assigned a route/truck. My regular shipments are regularly screwed up.

Thanks for the UPS info

Click to expand...

I'm more familiar with the flight ops/aircraft end of things with UPS, but---you're right. With the drivers, most routes are 'bid' on, based on seniority. Or assigned via an 'On Call' list. So routes can have different drivers very very often. The same is also true with UPS pilots.

By the way, I can almost assure everyone---there will NOT be a strike. The pilots have been threatening to strike because of contract negotiation issues for years now. But the the truth of the matter is, at least with UPS in the present day, the operation is SO massive and important to sectors of the economy you wouldn't even think it's related to...that essentially, it's "too big to fail".

It would be a miracle if it even came close to an actual strike. I don't care what kind of bluster/noise is coming from the unions, it simply won't happen.

They're not "failing" but unless El Cheeto decides to meddle in things he shouldn't, people could certainly be inconvenienced by a UPS strike. Still, as pointed out, UPS does NOT have a monopoly. Some shippers may be tied heavily to UPS (especailly those using fulfillment centers in Louiville) but nobody HAS to use UPS. Not only is their FedEx and USPS, but a lot of the big users (like Amazon) have private carriers in major markets. Note that a strike won't mean a complete shutdown, but it will severely reduce operations.

This is not the first time UPS has been hit by strikes. It happened in 1997. Teamsters struck for 15 days. At the time UPS didn't operate airplanes (they contracted that out to a few companies even though the planes were painted in the brown UPS livery).

UPS severely abuses the "part time worker" concept. The 1997 strike centered on that issue and so will this one. Of course, they have nearly two months before the contract expires to work something out.

Like I said there are other companies to ship packages Fed Ex USPS or Foreign postal services, Greyhound Bus Lines Package Express, Amtrak Cargo, Airline cargo and odd ball companies such as Rodeway or Yellow Freight or Schenider Freightlines.
Bet some here did not know Greyhound & Amtrak had a cargo division eh?

A strike of the USP people would be a bad idea, sure they might eventually get what they want, but unforeseen consonances will lingal. USP will lose share value, they will lose customers during the strike, they will have to raise prices which means people will be less likely to come back, and others might leave with higher costs.

It like the "fight for 15", well many McD's as a preemptive measure, have cut back the work force, and we have to order though computerized order devices. That what the "fight for 15" gotten instead of the old 10 people working there they only have 4 now, and orders are done on the computers. Ya great for the 4 that might get the 15 if they get their way, but not so good for the 6 that are getting 0 now. And I have not gone as often as I use to as the computers they use do not allow the customizations I like (double cheeseburger with big mac sauce added)

The long and sort of it is if they strike they might not get fired but in the long run they might end up losing their jobs, if UPS has to cut back to save money as they have greater expenses (remember gas is going up too) and people loss faith in them as a delivery company and move on to other companies. They might need to get a government bail out if there is a strike.

Sorry, not true in the least. That didn't happen the last time the teamsters struck and it's not going ot happen this time. At least at UPS (who knows what will happen if USP strikes). You have to understand this isn't some bunch of malcontent untrained burger flippers hitting individual franchisees. These are trained union employees who are subject to a collective bargaining agreement along with the company that is expiring at the end of July. They have the right to negotiate a better deal, UPS is far from hurting financially. The people whose backs the profit is made on, feel they deserve not having games played with them.

willnotwill said:

Sorry, not true in the least. That didn't happen the last time the teamsters struck and it's not going ot happen this time. At least at UPS (who knows what will happen if USP strikes). You have to understand this isn't some bunch of malcontent untrained burger flippers hitting individual franchisees. These are trained union employees who are subject to a collective bargaining agreement along with the company that is expiring at the end of July. They have the right to negotiate a better deal, UPS is far from hurting financially. The people whose backs the profit is made on, feel they deserve not having games played with them.

Click to expand...

I am not saying the deserve less, or don't deserve more, I am just saying a strike in the long run could back fire on them. You think UPS wants to make less money, with increase cost and increase fuel prices, that means increase cost to the customers, or fewer employees. What would you do if you had to keep the share holders happy? Sorry share holders we will make less money this year for such and such reason, that will hurt the stock price. I am a software developer, and I had in the past lost a job, not because of my work but because the company did not make earnings, so they laid off 1/3 of the employees (oh and the CEO that made the bad decisions that caused the problem got a golden parachute) What is "fair" vary vary vary rarely happens in the business world (this is why I am glad I moved to the public sector many years ago)

What I am saying is always except the very worst to happen and you will vary rarely be surprised at what happens.

You don't seem to understand collective bargaining. The shareholders have to allow the better deal for the employees (even if it means a short term reduction in profit) because the option is worse for them (the employees strike and then the share price tanks).

Absent the ability to collectively bargain and strike the workers are raped at the hands of the owners. The ability to organize allows an equal footing.

Heck, they might reach a deal before the deadline and all this will mean nothing.

I've never personally worked for a unionized company, but my dad did. I'd say it has it's pros and cons. In the union workplace, you can all band together and force the company to pay attention to what you want/need. In mind, you have to complain one by one to your direct supervisor and see what happens. (Although I am guilty of jumping chain of command once...I'd kept saying something about an unsafe practice and kept getting ignored, so I mentioned it to the head of the safety department. It got fixed the next day. )

Unions can also be disastrous if the head of the union is an idiot. I've seen SEVERAL companies where the union made demands of the company that the company flat out said "we can't afford that, and if you continue to strike we're just going to have to close the business for good." The union reps refused to blink, and a few days later hundreds (in two cases) and a few thousand (in another case) were unemployed. "Everyone loses". It's unions like that who give unions a bad name.

A good union will do what's good for the employees in the long-run, which includes making sure the business stays strong and healthy. Bad unions will try to milk the company for everything they can get for their employees in the short-term, which will either cripple or outright kill the company.