Tech workers react to UPS drivers landing a $170,000 a year package with a mixture of anger and admiration::Some tech workers questioned whether UPS drivers deserved high pay — others jumped in to note the importance of the jobs and harsh working conditions.
tech workers: i’m underpaid and everyone else should be too!
fucking unionize already. tired of this crabs-in-a-bucket mentality
Or, perhaps this article is just trying to sow discord between workers.
One of the old tricks in the books to make people despise unions is to take the very best union deals and sensationalize them, so that others hate the union out of jealousy.
Make it appear like the UPS driver is getting paid $170K for 32 hours of work, in a fully A/C’d vehicle on a short, easy route, starting pay, right out of college without a degree, four weeks of vacation yada yada.
When in reality, the $170K probably only kicks in if you take the absolute worst routes, worst shifts (weekend/night) with max overtime and even then, a third of it is retirement, insurance and health care contributions. And you only get the max after 10 or 20 years of service, if they didn’t fire you as you increased.
During an earnings call on Tuesday, UPS CEO Carol Tomé said that by the end of its five-year contract with the Teamsters union, the average full-time UPS driver would make about $170,000 in annual pay and benefits, such as healthcare and pension benefits.
The headline is sensationalized for sure. But the article itself actually makes the point that the tech workers are misunderstanding that the $170k figure includes both salary and benefits.
“This is disappointing, how is possible that a driver makes much more than average Engineer in R&D?” a worker at the autonomous trucking company TuSimple wrote on Blind, an anonymous jop-posting site that verifies users’ employment using their company email. “To get a base salary of $170k you know you need to work hard as an Engineer, this sucks.”
It is important to note that the $170,000 figure represents the entire value of the UPS package, including benefits and does not represent the base salary. Currently, UPS drivers make an average of around $95,000 per year with an additional $50,000 in benefits, according to the company. The average median salary for an engineer in the US is $103,845 with a base pay of about $91,958, according to Glassdoor. And TuSimple research engineers can make between $161,000 to $250,000 in compensation, Glassdoor data shows.
On the whole though this is a useless article covering drama on Blind, wrapped up with a ragebait headline.
On the whole though this is a useless article covering drama on Blind, wrapped up with a ragebait headline.
This is the buried lead. Blind is a negative echo chamber where your posts gets no value if you don’t mention your TC (total compensation). Opinions from there should be taken with a grain of salt.
The phrase is “bury the lede”, but most autocorrect doesn’t like that.
Your point is absolutely valid, nonetheless.
My guy at work is amazing. He’s almost always on time somehow, gets in and out, knows the answer to stupid questions people ask him and has classic rock from a bluetooth speaker in his truck. He deserves every penny, and some damn air conditioning.
What strange math. My healthcare costs are DEDUCTED from my salary
Highly likely.
I think people just don’t realize how underpaid they are. They think that because they make six figures, that means they’re getting paid what they’re worth.
Actually what people don’t realize is what the above poster means between the lines, this is an article by big corp to make the general public angry at unionized organizations.
Bingo. A greedy neoliberal company putting out articles to help greedy neoliberals companies.
They might tolerate competition and superficial disagreements, but the moment something is a threat to profits they have incredible class solidarity.
If you were paid what you were worth the company wouldn’t make any money.
Corporations exist by the excess value of their workers’ labor, by definition.
Eh that’s a paradox though. If the company makes no money, there’s no job for you in the first place making you worth nothing.
It’s not a paradox. The money the company makes is profit. Profit is what’s left of revenue after costs are subtracted. People’s pay is a cost.
Some tech workers. This is just a stupid ragebait piece.
They’re quoting Blund users though, Blind is a cesspool of silicon Valley tech bros. It’s often just a dick measuring contest between FAANG workers about who makes more money.
Fuck off with this class war baiting bullshit
Tech workers need to ask themselves why their boss makes more than them for doing nothing
There’s no way any substantial amount of tech workers are concerned about what UPS workers are making. These kinds of articles are rage bait targeted at “low skill” workers to make them furious at what they perceive to be high salary earners complaining about “blue collar” workers earning more money.
All of this bullshit is a distraction from the fact that the middle class is shrinking at a massive rate and the lower class is being turned against itself so nobody can rightfully blame the rich.
Fuck this article and the hatred it’s designed to generate. This is all bullshit.
“Wait, it’s all bullshit?” points gun
Always has been>
It’s Business Insider. What do you expect?
Ah. The anti-union propaganda has begun to stop the tech industry from unionizing, lol.
They are scared they will and with good reason. A strong union will level the playing field.
You’d think these complainers would realize it’s great when other jobs get a massive raise… because those engineers can now say “Why should I work here and deal with your nonsense when UPS drivers are making near 100K in low cost of living income areas?”
Like, please please please let the cashiers at walmart start making 30 dollars an hour so I can tell my boss that I need a raise or I’m dipping to walmart.
Holy hell, I wish more people got this concept.
They don’t have to worry too much about us tech workers unionizing because the tech world is full of more introverts on average than other (especially blue collar) fields. And a lot of us are constantly scared of getting fired or replaced.
So many of us still believe the lie that our individual hard work will be rewarded.
It’s going to be a while.
I was fantasizing a bit about becoming wealthy enough to stop working, and it occurred to me that the actual best thing to do if I’m ever in that position would be to start talking with my coworkers about unionizing. Then maybe even get fired for it and sue for more money. Money I’d probably plow back into unionizing tech workers.
“This is disappointing, how is possible that a driver makes much more than average Engineer in R&D?”
Because the engineer is being exploited and refuses to unionize.
“To get a base salary of $170k you know you need to work hard as an Engineer, this sucks.”
Bitch, UPS workers work harder than I ever did as an electronics engineer.
“To get a base salary of $170k you know you need to work hard as an Engineer, this sucks.”
Bitch, UPS workers work harder than I ever did as an electronics engineer.
If he wants the $170k so badly, he should go get a job as a driver then.
Fucking truth, especially for software engineers. I spent most of today debating whether to use
npm
orpnpm
for some project that’s probably just going to get mothballed anyway.I mean I know my worth, but I definitely don’t work even 1/23rd as hard as even the laziest delivery driver imaginable. Even pretending to be a delivery driver is more work than my actual job.
“To get a base salary of $170k you know you need to work hard as an Engineer, this sucks.”
As someone who has worked as a UPS driver and now as a software developer, I can say that the UPS drivers definitely work harder than your average engineer.
That quote is also deftly ignoring the fact that you’re generally paid for the value you generate, not how hard to you work.
I’m starting to think people should be forced to have at least 1 year of experience in a, so called, blue-collar job before they are allowed to have an office job.
As a tech worker in rhe U.S. we are definitely not being exploited. I’m all for unions but we’re doing just fine.
Narrator, as Elon dances over Twitter headquarters with strobe lights and Google charges employees $99 per night to stay at their own hotel:
“They were being exploited.”
I hear what you’re saying: we’re very well compensated. But think of the profit your team helps generate for your employer. It is a lot more than the combined salaries of the people who actually make the product / service.
As a tech worker, I say good for them.
As a fellow tech worker, I agree. Probably most tech workers would agree, but since that’s boring, this article focuses on the opinion of just “some tech workers on social media”. So dumb.
“some tech workers on social media”.
“some tech workers on blind”. Even worse
As a tech worker in Europe, the concept of “deserving” or “not deserving” a specific number has always been a total joke. Your salary is like 80% determined by location alone.
Any notion of “merit” (whatever that even means, there isn’t even a good way of measuring it in many industries) has always been only very loosely correlated with compensation.
So if you can get it, go get it.
This is a little misleading. It’s $170k in pay and benefits, not just salary. Still, UPS drivers deserve it and this will make everyone’s experience with UPS so much better.
Pushing tens of pounds around in the heat everyday is hard, expecially inside a van without AC.
Let’s just hope tech workers will be smart enough to unionize and organize like the UPS Chads did.
I see we are trying to sow some tension between working class people here eh?
deleted by creator
As a tech worker, good for them. Why would I be opposed to someone else getting paid more, especially if they’re being paid by a private company whose services I enjoy?
My guess the naysayers are toxic tech bros. There are some really toxic tech bros. More accurate, there are some really toxic people in tech only as a means to a high salary.
Blind is a tech bro incel cesspool sometimes.
Wow good for UPS workers. As a tech worker I can say I’m genuinely happy for them. They have a hard ass job. A win for labor is a win for labor, regardless of which type.
And it’s not like their win is our loss. Why would we fight amongst ourselves? It’s the ultra-rich we should be sizing up.
If we divide, we’ll be conquered. That wisom is at least two thousand years old by now. Better to unite and defy.
As a tech worker, I do almost jack shit and make deep into the six figures. Honestly, I’d be fine if UPS drivers made more than me, good on them.
Frankly, in terms of total compensation, pay them more.
Whenever I see a delivery driver or pole worker or whatever, especially on a shitty day, from the window of my cozy home office, the same thought crosses my mind
Some tech workers on social media
This isn’t fucking news! Enough of this dumb ragebait bullshit.
Omg you wouldn’t believe, someone on the internet was an asshole!

We all do better when we all do better.
As someone who has only worked freight in an air-conditioned warehouse, moving boxes is not easy work and not many people will be able to do it their whole careers. I’m personally glad I argue with computers for my job now and I have much respect for those lifting things in the elements.
“A rising tide lifts all boats” is something Republicans say is impossible because God wouldn’t let the liberal commie boats rise with the patriot boats.
I have a pro-driver pro-union UPS placard in my window and a “Unionize Amazon” sticker on my hoodie. I’m happy for UPS workers. They fought and won a much better contract. It’s genuinely exciting that there’s so much positive union activity in the USA right now.