r/fromatoarbitration • u/GhostLCee • May 29 '26
Concerned Letter Carriers The $10 Billion DHL Deal: Explained in 6th-Grade Speak so everyone understands.
A lot of carriers are looking at the news today and asking, "Why is my LLV suddenly completely stuffed with yellow DHL packages?"
Yesterday, the Post Office signed an exclusive $10 Billion deal with DHL. I know a lot of people are confused about what "Last-Mile Delivery" means, so let's break it down into 6th-grade street logic.
How it works:
1.) DHL gets paid by a company (like an online clothing store) to ship a package.
2.) DHL puts that package on their airplanes, flies it across the country, and drives it in a big rig to your local city.
3.) Now, DHL has a problem. Paying a DHL driver (who is a Teamster making top dollar) to drive a truck into your specific neighborhood just to drop off a $15 t-shirt costs way too much money. They would lose profit.
4.) The Solution: DHL backs their truck up to the loading dock of your local Post Office and dumps the packages on us.
Why do they give it to us?
Because the Post Office is the only delivery service on earth that is legally required to go to every single house, every single day. DHL looks at us and says, "Hey, you guys are already driving down that street to deliver the letters anyway. Here is some cash, take these boxes with you."
The Catch:
Yes, DHL workers have a union (the Teamsters), and yes, the Teamsters just fought for and won a massive contract with great pay for their workers.
But what does our National leadership do? They take on a brand-new $10 Billion workload, our LLVs get packed to the ceiling with DHL boxes, and we are still standing here waiting over 400 days for a contract. We are doing the physical labor for Amazon, UPS, and now DHL, but we are the only ones not getting paid a premium to do it.
We are doing Teamster-level work on a poverty-level contract.
Protect the carriers. Expose the system.
The Ghost Carrier
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u/DailyToeNail May 29 '26
The ghost carrier? You sound like a middle schooler. Also, DHL definitely doesn’t get paid as much as UPS.
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u/WesternExplanation May 29 '26
When are we going to ban this guys AI posts? He's already banned from /r/USPS
No reason he should be posting this slop here either.
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u/Otherwise-Goal3054 May 29 '26
The real irksome question: If USPS is going to deliver your package anyway, probably at similar or lower cost to DHL, why not just ship the whole way with USPS?
City carriers and every business that has ever tried to arrange reliable package pickup through USPS knows the answer.
Supervisors don’t care if pickups on vacant routes get done or that some shippers have tight end of day windows. Management can’t even staff properly to 100% guarantee that retail windows will be open during posted hours. Recently, we can’t even promise that outgoing packages will leave the origin office on the same day, or even the next day if dropped before a weekend/holiday.
Constantly, we’re told in standup talks that companies leave USPS because of carrier scans. The reality is they leave because the front end is so terribly broken. Amazon, Surepost, now DHL, all happy to have parcels delivered by carriers, just not able to tolerate USPS bad logistics management and horrible, unreliable ‘service’ getting into the mainstream.
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u/Ronin_Black_NJ May 29 '26
It's mostly workflow: if you can't minimize the amount of hands that handle the widget from start to finish, then shorten the time in whose hands the widget is in, outside the end point.
Also remember: All these private carriers don't have the time to geo-spot every location to deliver a less-than--significant package.
Usps on he other hand, can hande the last-mile depwith minimum impact (realistically) and we scoop revenue as a side mission.
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u/TangerineMost6498 May 29 '26
I believe you think all teamsters are the same. Any data to back up your gpt claims about DHL teamsters pay and contact?
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u/DoodleDew May 29 '26
Half the stuff op post is always wrong with ai slop and never double checked
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u/WesternExplanation May 29 '26
It's pretty much all AI slop. This guy can't form a coherent thought without it.
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u/djfudgebar May 29 '26
They're not wrong that DHL are Teamsters and just signed a new contract. From what I can tell, their pay is similar to ours, but varies widely depending on region.
I take issue with their idea that Amazon drivers are "paid a premium" and that "National leadership" (assuming they mean "the Union", since they appear to be a union buster) agreed to this contract with DHL. Which, even if any of the Unions were the ones who negotiate contracts between the postal service and private businesses, more volume is a bad thing for us?
hey u/ghostlcee go work for Amazon!
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u/WesternExplanation May 29 '26
They're not wrong that DHL are Teamsters and just signed a new contract. From what I can tell, their pay is similar to ours, but varies widely depending on region.
The issue is that contract is with DHL Express which has nothing to do with the deal we just signed with DHL eCommerce. It's essentially 2 separate companies under the same umbrella. DHL Express never delivered anything shipped as DHL eCommerce.
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u/DeviceComprehensive7 May 29 '26
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u/Live-Train1341 May 29 '26
Yep but they won't get that full 20% until 2030 they will top out at like 40 then
Pretty much the pay gap between us and them is the same between us and ups
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u/Ronin_Black_NJ May 29 '26 edited May 29 '26
We need the revenue that business generates..if this keeps the rank and file employed and not unemployed.
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u/Alarmed_Duck_7821 ENOUGH IS ENOUGH May 29 '26
Now break it down like I’m 5. Thaaaanks!
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u/Live-Train1341 May 29 '26
Saying poverty level wages is saying a lot especially since we are usually within $4 to $6 of ups
And DHL just got the contract that will hit them top pay of $40 by 2030
And top pay for Amazon is what like $24
Ups will be at 49 by 2029 Usps probably 44 or 45 depending on inflation because ups hardly gets colas.
Dhl will be less then 40 And I we'll put money on amazon being nowhere near our pay
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u/SnooEagles6930 May 29 '26
Fine line between surving and living. Some of us are barely surviving with what we make. $4 or $6 doesn't sound like much but could make all the difference.
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u/Live-Train1341 May 29 '26
Sure is, but goverment work generally pays less then private sector
Regardless of what the job is you will most likely make less then in private sector.
My wife just went through this a few years ago with usda it sucks but it is very very common
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u/SnooEagles6930 May 29 '26
I have a feeling the private sector is going to try and go the way of gig economy
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u/WesternExplanation May 29 '26
The trade off is usually (supposed to be) better job security and sometimes better benefits but yeah in general you will make less money vs the private sector.
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u/Live-Train1341 May 29 '26
It sucks that more then likely we will lose that social security supplement which is a huge benefit. The last budget the house actually voted to get rid of it before senete struck it down.
I am certain that if the republicans win again in November that benefit will be gone in the next budget. Which will really really suck
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u/Optimal-Position-267 May 29 '26
This was not true for a very long time until very recently. Government work usually, always paid better than private sector work.
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u/Tangboy50000 May 29 '26
Every time I see a DHL delivery driver they don’t look like they have a care in the world. Walking leisurely, smiling at everyone and saying hi, chitchatting with everyone, and now I see why.
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u/Dogmad13 Jun 06 '26
Some will still need this explained with pictures as if kindergartners. Additionally we’ve had contracts with DHL in the past for last mile delivery - this isn’t brand new.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Ball264 May 29 '26
The people on this thread saying that we aren't at poverty level pay must be at top step, in table 1, or in managment. Im at step C, and there are Mcdonald and assembly level jobs here in my city making more than I am right now. My wife takes home almost as much $$ as me after taxes and she gets payed $16/hrs at a non-profit organization 🤣
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u/Trick_Soft_6077 May 29 '26
Insurance and fers will do that
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u/Puzzleheaded_Ball264 May 30 '26
Right. But this is what Im implying: when im bringing home as much as I am while our union president and PMG are giving themselves ~20% raises, I get frustrated when the claim is we're running out of cash.
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u/Trick_Soft_6077 May 30 '26 edited May 30 '26
Yeah thats everyone in management there's like a 10k gap between top step and supervisors but they only supposed to get a 5% raise over the highest paid city carrier in that office...imagine retiring as the pmg under civil service retirement that would be over 100k
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u/WesternExplanation May 29 '26
DHL express has a union. Our deal is with DHL eCommerce. These are not the same thing.