What will a UPS strike mean for the hobby?

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

I think this is great not only for the people who are grinding everyday delivering all our stuff but also for our shipments! If they get additional cooling in the trucks that would be beneficial as well to anything being shipped that is currently in up to 140 degree temps all day in the back of the truck.


The UPS lady who does our area is awesome.

From what I understand the workers still have to vote on what was agreed on however so I am not sure they are out of the woods yet.

I keep hearing from people here that they are all urging to vote No because base pay is already adjusted higher than the new nagotiated starting pay.

At the very least I hope UPS is taking adjusted wages into account to prevent a shutdown. Because I know for dang sure there are areas where 22 an hour is a massive difference than the unadjusted $16 some are making. We will see.

The one benefit to part timers I am hearing in Chicagoland, is that currently UPS can currently just take away the adjusted current $22 an hour, and if the new contract does come into affect, they will at least not have to worry about ever taking a paycut.

From what I am seeing though, even their largest center in Tennessee is already making $20 starting so the deal isn't as much of a slamdunk as I thought it would be when it was first announced.

Going to keep an eye on demmand for inflatable scabby the rats, that will be the barometer for what happens with the vote.

 

[Opus]

We had a very poor turnout on the last two local ones as well. The irony is that they had the best turnout during the height of COVID.

It has been like this since COVID. The first swap after the shutdown had a very good turnout. All the rest since then (excluding Aquashella) have been horrible, and there have been probably a dozen. Even RAP here was horrible from what I've been told by local vendors. They said maybe 500 people showed up. It can't be the economy because it was like that before that went south.

Compare that to the freshwater swaps we have locally and they get several hundred people showing up. They are doing so well that the show planned for next month is going to be 2 days. Yes it is somewhat cheaper but they are still selling fish in the $50 to $200 range.

The only thing I can attribute it to for my area is we have a couple of garage sellers that seem to do really well. They run auctions/raffles daily and most stuff seems to sell. Their prices are comparable if not more than what I see at the swaps so not sure why they are so popular, but they have their cult group of followers.

The only thing that has done great attendance wise is Aquashella. The show a few months back had over 5000 attendance from what I've heard, though I've never been able to find out if that was actual ticket sales or just a headcount. Of course I would bet 75% or more of those attending were freshwater/reptile folks. One local vendor told me he was so sick of the "nemo" questions from the freshwater people.

 

[merkmerk73]

As it should be, but some folks will always make it political.

You mean throwing out comments about collective bargaining is political?

 

[blaxsun]

You mean throwing out comments about collective bargaining is political?

Why can't everyone just let me have my third world manufactured, child labor produced and environmentally-unfriendly shipped products in peace?

 

[affan]

Truck loaders making minimum wage(mostly part timers) while the drivers(full timers) are making $30+ is not fare. If they do strike, rates will go up.
If they do strike, don't expect things overnighted for a while. Delayments will cause a back log they will have to attend to.

You've got a point there... Wage disparities can lead to labor disputes and affect service quality. Strikes can indeed impact deliveries, causing delays and backlogs.

 

[Debramb]

It has been like this since COVID. The first swap after the shutdown had a very good turnout. All the rest since then (excluding Aquashella) have been horrible, and there have been probably a dozen. Even RAP here was horrible from what I've been told by local vendors. They said maybe 500 people showed up. It can't be the economy because it was like that before that went south.

Compare that to the freshwater swaps we have locally and they get several hundred people showing up. They are doing so well that the show planned for next month is going to be 2 days. Yes it is somewhat cheaper but they are still selling fish in the $50 to $200 range.

The only thing I can attribute it to for my area is we have a couple of garage sellers that seem to do really well. They run auctions/raffles daily and most stuff seems to sell. Their prices are comparable if not more than what I see at the swaps so not sure why they are so popular, but they have their cult group of followers.

The only thing that has done great attendance wise is Aquashella. The show a few months back had over 5000 attendance from what I've heard, though I've never been able to find out if that was actual ticket sales or just a headcount. Of course I would bet 75% or more of those attending were freshwater/reptile folks. One local vendor told me he was so sick of the "nemo" questions from the freshwater people.

Hi there, any swap meets near Fort Worth?
Debrs

 

[Opus]

Hi there, any swap meets near Fort Worth?
Debrs

There is the DFWMAS club frag swap at the Bob Duncan Center in Arlington on March 9th. Currently there is supposed to be a Tyree Coral Farmers Market at the Holiday Inn Ft Worth-Alliance on March 23rd. Then there is Aquashella on May 18th & 19th at Dallas Market Hall.

Nothing else is happening in 2023 that I know of. RAP was a month or so ago in Frisco. It was better than the prior year but still nothing like Aquashella attendance wise.

 

[Debramb]

There is the DFWMAS club frag swap at the Bob Duncan Center in Arlington on March 9th. Currently there is supposed to be a Tyree Coral Farmers Market at the Holiday Inn Ft Worth-Alliance on March 23rd. Then there is Aquashella on May 18th & 19th at Dallas Market Hall.

Nothing else is happening in 2023 that I know of. RAP was a month or so ago in Frisco. It was better than the prior year but still nothing like Aquashella attendance wise.

Well Thank-you!
Debra