As negotiations between UPS and the union representing over 300,000 delivery drivers have stalled, a nationwide strike may be looming this summer.
Estimates suggest that such an event could impact 25 to 30 percent of all parcels and packages shipped in the United States.
The Teamsters union represents 340,000 UPS workers – if they decide to go on strike, it would be the first time since a 15-day walkout by 185,000 employees crippled the company almost 25 years ago.
Since then, UPS has become an even larger part of the American economy – in 2020 alone they delivered 24.3 million packages per day for a total of 6.2 billion parcels across all fifty states by year’s end.
Though UPS does have contingency plans set up should their staff go on strike after July 31st, disruptions are still likely to be substantial according to Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain & customs policy at the National Retail Federation.
In his words: “You’d have supply chain disruption like we witnessed during the pandemic potentially, where you won’t be getting your deliveries… so those who are relying on next-day, two-day delivery of whatever you buy online or somewhere else, potentially cannot be delivered.”
Some of these issues were related directly to shipping delays caused by massive container ships sitting off major ports for extended periods, while other problems had nothing to do with ocean liners – like avian flu leading to egg shortages or virus outbreaks at meat processing plants that slowed production or forced closures altogether.
If members of Teamsters do decide to stage another strike against UPS – leaving behind too few employees unable meet demands, then small businesses relying exclusively upon them will need alternative shipping options fast.
Last week, UPS announced that they’ve begun training nonunion personnel within the United States as a potential stopgap measure should there indeed be a strike come July 31st deadline time, though how effective this will prove remains anyone’s guess…