ST PAUL, Minn. — We do it without even thinking - swipe here, a click there and most items, from anywhere in the country, can be on our doorstep within hours.
But a huge shakeup could be coming.
Nearly 350,000 United Parcel Service (UPS) workers could walk off the job in a matter of weeks. The two parties are fighting over wages and working conditions and contract negotiations may have stalled.
Nearly 120 years ago, two teenagers took $100 and founded UPS - now one of the largest shipping companies. It delivers 20 million packages every day to customers around the world.
"It's a lot of work," said Rikki Schreiner, who has worked at UPS since 1999 and is prepared to strike. "We want to keep working, but to get what we believe we have earned, we will stand up and fight."
UPS and the Teamsters union started negotiating three months ago.
But with talks stalling, and a contract up July 31, experts are predicting widespread disruptions.
"No matter what, it's going to be painful, it's going to be complicated and it's going to be busy," said Kyle Goldschmidt, a University of St. Thomas associate professor in the Department of Operations and Supply Chain Management.
Goldschmidt says his biggest concern isn't the delay in your shipments, but rather the ones between businesses, especially hospitals.
He suggests those businesses turn to FedEx, the postal service and even private companies.
"Businesses should be planning on a disruption and looking for alternative sources for shipping, but it it's really hard to know how much volume these other companies can absorb," said Goldschmidt. "I've seen an estimate around 20%, which would leave a lot of shipments sitting around."
This comes at a time when e-commerce sales are booming, in part due to the pandemic. It has changed our shopping habits so much that sales now top $800 million a year.
Some workers already practice picketing, including in Minnesota, while others are scrambling to stop what could be one of the largest strikes in history.
"They don't have to lose customers, we don't have to go on strike," said Schreiner. "They have the money to pay their employees."
The last time UPS went on strike was 1997, a 15-day strike back then but one that still had crippling effects.
A UPS spokesperson wrote that it has a good contract with the Teamsters through the end of the month, adding in a statement, “We have made steady progress in our negotiations with the Teamsters on a wide array of issues. Even so, we are not surprised to see some union members making their voices heard. We plan and expect to reach agreement on a new contract before the end of July that is a win for our employees, our company and customers, and the union.”
Watch more local news:
Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities and across Minnesota in our YouTube playlist: