Worldport Workers on Missing COLA Raise and the Union Response

In August of 2026, UPS workers were promised to receive a $0.22 cost of living adjustment (COLA) raise. As of the time of writing, this raise has not been given to most Worldport workers. Many of these workers share similar sentiments regarding the raise, or lack thereof. The following are the collective conclusions taken from interviews with a handful of UPS Worldport employees who wished to remain anonymous.

Are you aware of the $0.22 COLA raise and did you receive it?

By now, most Worldport workers are aware of this raise, though many have yet to receive it.

Has there been any communication on the subject? If so, who communicated the information, and in what form?

Most communication about the raise has been either word of mouth or the result of affected workers seeking out the information from a union steward or representative. One employee notes that “the only communication I’ve had regarding the situation was when I went to my union steward after noticing that I had not received the raise. I spoke with my steward and filed a grievance regarding the issue. About two weeks later, I went back to ask for an update and was told that someone within the union filed a Worldport-wide grievance on behalf of everyone affected.”

Another employee said “[my union steward] sent out a message to everyone she had the phone numbers of. She also sent out the message to the supervisors to send to their people, just saying what the raise was and how much we were getting. Once no one - I’m pretty sure no one that I know actually received the raise - they said a few weeks ago that they were working on it and should have it fixed in about a week. That's the last that I’ve heard about it”. When asked when this message was sent out, they responded that “the message about the raise was sent out probably about 4 weeks ago.” Most of the communication about the raise “was done by fellow employees,” another worker notes.

Are you aware of any action taken by the Teamsters and, if so, do you feel it has been enough?

Most of the workers were aware of the mass grievance filed on behalf of all affected employees, though some areas had not had this communicated to them. When asked if this mass grievance was enough, one employee stated, “I do not think this is enough. I feel the union should be doing more to ensure that everyone receives the COLA pay they are entitled to. This is the reason we pay union dues, and I would like to see the union fighting harder to get what was promised to us in our contract.” When asked the same question, another employee remarked, “probably not. At the very least, the union's actions could be communicated better.”

Do you feel the workers should be taking action themselves?

Nearly all people interviewed expressed the desire to do more, however, many were hesitant to the idea of agitation outside of the union. “I think workers should have a voice and be willing to speak up when something isn’t right. At the same time, I feel the union should be taking the lead in situations like this and making sure employees are properly represented.” Another employee states, “I do believe that everyone should be asking about it regularly. I think there should be a pressure put on management and union leadership until they get it fixed. It’s a cost of living raise, we were told we were gonna get it, it's not fair that they’re not giving it to us. I don’t exactly know the reasons that it’s not being paid to us. I don’t exactly know what form of pressure, but we should be putting pressure on people to get this fixed.”

How willing do you think workers in your area are to take action?

The interviewed employees expressed mixed feelings about whether or not their fellow workers would be willing to take direct action.

One worker said, “I believe there are employees who would be willing to take action, but people may be hesitant when they don’t know what the union is doing or what their options are.”

Another employee states, “if it means getting more money on their paycheck, I’d say very willing.”

Another worker says, “I think most people in my area will need to see some form of action taken first.”

Are there any issues or concerns apart from the COLA raise in your workplace that you feel needs to be addressed?

One employee expressed concern about a lack of attention to staffing and safety. “Understaffing is really rampant in my building, we barely have a CERC (Circuit Employee Retention Committee) at this point, we don’t have a CHSP (Comprehensive Health & Safety Process), and I think those things are important. I work CERC. They’ve not given us any sort of budget. Understaffing is probably the main issue. Something that still bugs me - I know most people are more relaxed about it nowadays, but I regularly see supervisors loading cans and doing union work because we’re so understaffed and that shouldn’t be happening. That’s union work for a reason and management shouldn’t be doing it, but it's become such a regular thing in my area. I’ve even seen our full timer or building supervisor - I’m not sure of his title - but I’ve seen him loading cans and it does not feel right. As far as union leadership goes, in my building it feels like they don’t do much outside of grievances or disciplinary actions. I don’t see them doing a whole lot outside of that and the new hire classes. It just feels like people could be more proactive. I just feel like the union isn’t fighting as hard as it could be.”

Conclusions

So what can we take from this? First and foremost, frustration with the lack of communication and lack of day-to-day action with the union is readily apparent. A failure for union leadership to have a meaningful connection to its members has led to widespread mistrust of the Teamsters among the workers of Worldport. This pitfall shows the importance of any labor based movement to remain rooted in the workers if it is to truly represent and protect the interests of the working class. If we are to organize the working class into action, we must have the trust of the working class. Failure to do so will result in similar sentiments being leveled towards our attempts at agitation. Thus, we must continue to build and maintain our relationships with the workers and stay attentive to their needs as workers.

Secondly, the need for further action is felt in the workplace. Many people have expressed a desire for the union to do more and to be more aggressive in their actions to enforce the current contract and to address the myriad of ongoing issues permeating Worldport in regards to safety and staffing (oftentimes being the same issue, entirely). Though these sentiments are present and growing, many feel powerless to do anything without the blessing of the Teamsters. So, what is to be done? This event could be used as a weight that could tip the scales, if only slightly, towards a more revolutionary mindset and, if potent enough, perhaps mobilization, though that level of activity may be a way out.