The private United Parcel Service (U.P.S.) shipping company delivers around 24 million packages to doorsteps every day. Families have altered their weekly schedules to rely on deliveries ordered with a couple of clicks, and with online ordering becoming a new norm during COVID-19, many no longer buy household supplies, groceries, or other necessities in-store. Annual profits at U.P.S. correspondingly rose during the pandemic: in the last two years, profits have been almost three times higher than they were in 2019. U.P.S.’s workers played a vital role in this transformation, but say that the company has failed to recognize them accordingly. Represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters labour union, 350,000 unionized U.P.S. workers are striking to address insufficient part-time pay, excessive overtime, driver safety, and an unfair contract which created two tiers of pay, hours, and benefits.

“Our members worked really hard over the pandemic,” said Teamsters spokesperson Kara Deniz. “They need to see their fair share.”

The strike has been a long time coming. In 2018, thousands of Teamsters members rejected a proposed U.P.S. contract agreement because they disapproved of the proposal to create a separate class of drivers who would receive lower pay. However, union leadership passed the contract regardless. Workers were devastated and resentful.

“This destroys unions,” said Sean Mason, a U.P.S. driver in Florida. “They had 54 percent of the people vote no and they ignored the vote.”

That bitterness remains strong. In last year’s Teamsters election, workers rejected the formerly-favoured union head James Hoffa in favour of a more ambitious candidate, Sean O’Brien. This year’s strike, the first worker’s strike the company has seen in a quarter century, is another opportunity for the union to use their voices as a force to make change.

But with the increased dependence on online ordering, a large-scale U.P.S. strike could re-aggravate the global supply chain issues that affected millions as the world adapted to COVID-19. Businesses were flooded with orders and struggled with item shortages, forcing a significant spike in both prices and wait times as a consequence. These issues have lingered into 2023 and may be exacerbated if it takes U.P.S. and the Teamsters too long to find resolution. Depending on the outcome of this contract negotiation, Americans may need to schedule more time into their weeks for in-store shopping.

U.P.S. CEO Carol Tomé remains optimistic, however, assuring the public that the company’s and the Teamsters’ views on major issues are more aligned than they make them out to be. “While we expect to hear a great deal of noise during the negotiation,” Tomé said, “I remain confident that a win-win-win contract is very achievable and that U.P.S. and the Teamsters will reach an agreement by the end of July.”

O’Brien also delivered a clear, strong message of urgency when U.P.S. members met with Teamsters leadership earlier this year. “We’re going into these negotiations with a clear message to U.P.S. that we’re not going past August 1^st,” he said.

The strike’s ramifications do not end at U.P.S. Beyond the effects on the supply chain, other large labour organizations will be watching to see how the company handles this situation. If workers are successful in their negotiations, a win at U.P.S. could affect how other companies, like Apple, Starbucks, and Trader Joe’s, handle their own labour disputes. If Tomé prioritizes ensuring that U.P.S. workers are treated humanely and given fair pay, these other companies will be more likely to follow suit, avoiding further backlash.

“This has just huge implications for the entire labour movement in the United States,” said John Logan, Director of Labour and Employment Studies at San Francisco State University. “There’s greater assertiveness and militancy on the part of a lot of young labour activists and some sectors of the labour establishment. Sean O’Brien is representative of that.”