What Happened to the Great American Logistics Machine?
United Parcel Service (UPS) is playing a critical role in maintaining the supply chain for urgent PPE supplies and essential goods amidst the pandemic. The corporation and its' workers wield incredible amounts of power and influence, particularly now. Joe Allen tears down the Brown Wall surrounding one of America's most admired companies.
How did UPS displace General Motors, the very symbol of American capitalism, to become the largest, private sector, unionized employer in the United States? And, at what cost to its workers and surrounding communities?
Joe Allen and Flynn Murray discuss all this and the overarching logistics machine in the US as it attempts to keep the country afloat in these tumultuous times.
Joe Allen is the author of The Package King: A Rank and File History of UPS.
Flynn Murray recently authored "The Rebirth of a Logistic Workers’ Movement?" for Dissent Magazine.