UPS’ CEO announced that drivers will be making $170,000 a year in pay and benefits by the end of a five-year employment contract. This is just the beginning for jobs in the physical economy.
A few years ago, there was a great deal of discussion about the elimination of the physical worker — i.e. jobs in the physical goods economy.
Think truck drivers, farmers, pilots, plumbers, oil rig, dock, warehouse and construction workers, etc. These are all jobs that require physical — and mental — skills to do successfully.
Many of the ideas regarding digitizing the economy were promoted by venture capitalists and tech media writers who have spent their entire careers working in the digital world and never the physical one.
The reality is that digitizing content, insurance, payments, or finance is relatively easy — while digitizing the “real” world is incredibly difficult.
If you aren’t convinced, go research the autonomous trucking startups that raised billions in capital from 2015-2020. FreightWaves covered many of these companies and their progress — or lack thereof.
Most of those businesses are now defunct, even when funded by the largest companies (Google, Uber, etc.), the most successful VCs, and some of the smartest minds in the digital economy.
The reality is that the physical world is incredibly hard to digitize and therefore automate. The real world is messy. Quantum physics and chaos theory reign.
Things happen that can’t be anticipated in a lab or a computer program.
The massive pay concessions we’ve seen labor win over the past year are primarily a function of demographics. The United States simply doesn’t have enough young people to do the physical jobs that our modern economy requires. Manufacturing is coming back to North America — and in the long-term, that is very good for our country.
Physical labor is going to be a major constraint, but this likely means that those jobs may pay much higher salaries than digital ones in the long-run.
This is not a short-term thing. It is a long-term trend. Get used to it. It’s beautiful.
Ray
Thank Republicans and their corporate greed for price hikes, they get all the tax breaks and pay nothing back. Good pay went up!!
Monte W.
Obviously anyone making higher wages is good for the employees. Not so much for those having to pay more for goods & services. I think the wage increases are too much too fast. The union president is a braggart!
John Bendel
Bless you, Craig. This, if it’s real, is a big step in restoring America’s blue collar middle class, which in case you haven’t noticed, has vanished.
Eddie
Sounds wonderful until that $170k UPS driver doubles your delivery price. The reality is that physical cash 💸 is still hard to come by for the overwhelming majority of Americans. So I’m not exactly sure how this doesn’t spiral into something really really bad for both workers who make too much and customers who can’t afford the prices?
Teresa
I’m a female trucker. Believe me, it ain’t easy work!
Richard Jones
This discussion is in large part gibberish, conducted by uninformed parties
Lyall Cresswell
I visit the US approximately six times a year for business and vacation, spending time in the mid-west, south and east coast. Since Covid the $ prices for lodging, eating out and travel have all increased hugely – even more so than in the UK and Europe. The US is starting to look super expensive compared to the rest of the world. No axe to grind here – I love visiting!
William Campbell
All this does is adding fuel to inflation and closer to a recession. I worked as a member of teamster organizing a few years ago. All we did was tell lies and eat and drink like royalty .I.have boycotted all union carriers from my driveway and should all non union workers do the same. If you don’t it’s like your delivery charges are going to the Democrat or Communist Party. Republicans join me in this stance