The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
UPS wants holiday cheer delivered quicker — even if it kills their workers.
A UPS driver gets out of his truck at the end of his route, at the Seattle HUB on August 27, 2004 in Seattle, Washington.Ron Wurzer / Getty Images
For most, Christmas is about spending time with family, getting a few deserved days off work, or exchanging gifts. But others have stories of mind-numbing, exhausting work and death on the job. For the big logistics giants — Amazon, FedEx, the Post Office, and UPS — packages come first, even if it kills workers.
Death on the Job
Earlier this month, UPS, the largest private, unionized logistics company in the United States, imposed a seventy-hour workweek on its package car delivery drivers. Illegal? Not according to the company:
UPS appreciates exceptional effort of all employees during our peak holiday shipping season, when delivery volumes near double the normal level. Our employees’ scheduled workweek is in compliance with Department of Transportation requirements. Union-represented employees are paid time and one-half for work above forty hours per week and they receive the industry’s most attractive compensation and benefits program.
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