UPS has, for me, been the most consistently atrocious.
One anecdote:
During the later part of the Covid hysteria, I had a large check arriving overnight. It was in the truck of a driver who supposedly got exposed to Covid. They left the truck parked in the lot, filled with packages. I went to the distribution center counter. The envelope I needed was literally 100m away in a truck I could see behind the fence in the parking lot, according to their internal tracking system.
Rather than simply going outside to get the envelope (that contained a huge check from cashing out a 401k to buy a house,) instead they said that there wasn't anything they could do until that driver returned from a two-week quarantine.
And to top it off, I didn't get a refund for the "overnight" shipping costs.
So if that's "union," then I want no part of it. I have had minor issues with all shipping companies, but compared to UPS, they've been minor. DHL, FedEx, and Amazon -- they consistently perform much better in my experience. Amazon drivers are a bit punk-rock in that they aren't so polished and can be "sloppy" -- but my stuff always arrives on time and I've never had a damaged package. FedEx is quietly consistent for the most part.
This idea that "unions make it better" is just false.
It's also interesting that UPS wanted to force FedEx to be reclassified under the NLRA in order to harm FedEx. FedEx was formed in 1971 and since their original focus was air freight, they were under the Railways Act, while UPS was formed over 100 years ago as a trucking company, thus putting them under the NLRA. UPS doesn't like that because since the Teamsters run the show over there, FedEx had an advantage due to lower costs.
The Teamsters union has annual revenues of almost $200 million and have over $300 million in assets. How does an organization that simply negotiates labor contracts accumulate that many assets? That $300 million isn't pension fund money. That isn't money going to the workers, that's money going to the union. That's money that customers are paying, employees aren't getting, but the union is getting. It's essentially a private tax that benefits the few at the expense of the many. That the Teamsters has a long history of corruption and organized crime involvement is no secret. Why would anyone support such a corrupt organization?
FedEx driver salaries in Texas are $34k-52k, while UPS drivers make $30k-43k. Additionally, the UPS driver salaries also have deductions for union dues. So how exactly is a union benefitting UPS in Texas? Competition for drivers is extremely fierce, especially in long-haul trucking.
One anecdote:
During the later part of the Covid hysteria, I had a large check arriving overnight. It was in the truck of a driver who supposedly got exposed to Covid. They left the truck parked in the lot, filled with packages. I went to the distribution center counter. The envelope I needed was literally 100m away in a truck I could see behind the fence in the parking lot, according to their internal tracking system.
Rather than simply going outside to get the envelope (that contained a huge check from cashing out a 401k to buy a house,) instead they said that there wasn't anything they could do until that driver returned from a two-week quarantine.
And to top it off, I didn't get a refund for the "overnight" shipping costs.
So if that's "union," then I want no part of it. I have had minor issues with all shipping companies, but compared to UPS, they've been minor. DHL, FedEx, and Amazon -- they consistently perform much better in my experience. Amazon drivers are a bit punk-rock in that they aren't so polished and can be "sloppy" -- but my stuff always arrives on time and I've never had a damaged package. FedEx is quietly consistent for the most part.
This idea that "unions make it better" is just false.
It's also interesting that UPS wanted to force FedEx to be reclassified under the NLRA in order to harm FedEx. FedEx was formed in 1971 and since their original focus was air freight, they were under the Railways Act, while UPS was formed over 100 years ago as a trucking company, thus putting them under the NLRA. UPS doesn't like that because since the Teamsters run the show over there, FedEx had an advantage due to lower costs.
The Teamsters union has annual revenues of almost $200 million and have over $300 million in assets. How does an organization that simply negotiates labor contracts accumulate that many assets? That $300 million isn't pension fund money. That isn't money going to the workers, that's money going to the union. That's money that customers are paying, employees aren't getting, but the union is getting. It's essentially a private tax that benefits the few at the expense of the many. That the Teamsters has a long history of corruption and organized crime involvement is no secret. Why would anyone support such a corrupt organization?
FedEx driver salaries in Texas are $34k-52k, while UPS drivers make $30k-43k. Additionally, the UPS driver salaries also have deductions for union dues. So how exactly is a union benefitting UPS in Texas? Competition for drivers is extremely fierce, especially in long-haul trucking.
Here are some thoughts on unions from readers of the Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/06/unneces...