Teamsters union to press UPS over Roadie use of gig drivers

Originally published at: Teamsters union to press UPS over Roadie use of gig drivers - FreightWaves

The Teamsters union plans to file a grievance against UPS over the use of non-union drivers by a UPS e-commerce subsidiary, FreightWaves has learned.

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Congrats the last contract has priced teamster drivers out of package business just like they did the LTL business…

Disclaimer: My opinion below is not necessarily the opinion of the author or his quoted source :slight_smile:

Can both UPS and the Teamsters be right? The Parcel market of today is very different. The rapid growth of ecommerce has created three distinct segments with their own unique operational requirements: 1) Large and high value parcels, 2) Traditional B2B brown box and 3) Lightweight/low cube/low value B2C parcels.
The Teamsters ARE RIGHT! – Large high value and traditional B2B parcels can be most efficiently delivered by P-1000 cube vans yielding higher operational efficiency for the higher revenue per stop service and thus support better trained drivers than gig workers.
UPS IS RIGHT! – With drivers making $65/hour with benefits, that light weight B2C parcel results in just the delivery cost at 60% of its revenue. Unsustainable. Roadie with access to gig workers helps attract those lightweight same day parcels at the right cost structure and strengthens UPS as a whole.
Can these delivery models can co-exist in UPS to the satisfaction of all stakeholders? The answer will be critical to offsetting labor issues months in advance of July 31, 2028 to retain customers who will have more options to switch then.