Labor reporters are increasingly focusing on how extreme heat kills workers — and what should be done about it. They could focus on industry opposition to creating federal heat regulations, whether from agricultural employers or warehouse companies.
As peak package season approaches, their union is gearing up for what could be the largest strike against a single company in U.S. history next year.
Aided by a historically tight labor market and a supportive president and National Labor Relations Board, unionized workers have been able to use their newfound leverage to win demands that forward their agenda.
With the victory of a coalition of reformers in the Teamsters, the union has enormous potential to organize Amazon, rebuild strength at shop floors throughout North America, and perhaps even go on strike against UPS.
FedEx’s less costly contractor drivers were supposed to give it an edge. But labor shortages are hobbling services.
“If you could see my co-workers walking out of the building at the end of the day. So many of them have been broken down by UPS, and UPS does not care. They just want the packages out.”
The widespread support and touching memorials for Frank Ordoñez reveal the depth of pain and identification with the working conditions that delivery drivers face across the United States.
The tentative agreement also does nothing substantial to address drivers’ other big concerns: excessive forced overtime, technological surveillance, and harassment by supervisors.
We should all be rooting for high profits and bull markets, since those are the conditions that lead to the invisible hand delivering better conditions for workers. Yet for some reason, that hand is nowhere to be found at United Parcel Service (UPS)
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