The quest for swift service and comfort is instigating labor conflicts in the film industry and UPS

Employees at UPS and those involved in Hollywood’s film industry are expressing their discontent after working 12-hour shifts for six consecutive days, earning meager wages. Despite the differing nature of these industries, a common issue surfaces, underscoring a rising wave of labor disputes: the toll on workers as businesses scramble to adapt to customer demands for immediacy and convenience in sectors reshaped by technology.

The COVID-19 pandemic has catalyzed these shifts, compelling retailers to pivot to online operations and amplifying the rivalry for streaming content amongst entertainment firms. Amidst these developments, workers strive to reveal to consumers the backstage efforts required to deliver a binge-watched show or to drop off pet food at their doorstep with a mere swipe on the phone.

Complaints about overburdened and undercompensated employees span across sectors – from delivery personnel to Starbucks baristas and airline pilots – where spikes in consumer demands clash with ongoing labor shortages. Workers are resisting enforced overtime, grueling schedules, or a company’s dependence on lesser-paid, part-time, or contract workers.

Hollywood screenwriters and actors, currently staging their first joint strikes in four decades, are contesting how the advent of streaming has disrupted the entertainment industry’s financial framework, reducing pay and pressuring showrunners to generate content faster with fewer personnel.

In many instances, tech companies’ entry seems to crush without concern, according to Danielle Sanchez-Witzel, a screenwriter and showrunner in the Writers Guild of America negotiation team. Its members have been on strike since May. The Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists joined the writers’ union on the picket line earlier this month.

Screenwriters and actors traditionally relied on residuals or long-term payments for film and television reruns. But streaming platforms, lacking a measurable indicator like box office returns or ratings to gauge popularity, have disrupted this model. Consequently, the residual payments streaming services do provide are often minuscule, with screenwriters recounting receiving single-digit paychecks.

Adam Shapiro, an actor from Netflix’s popular “Never Have I Ever,” admits many actors were initially satisfied with reduced pay given the abundance of roles offered by streaming. However, as the industry’s future became increasingly dependent on streaming, calls for a more sustainable pay model grew urgent.

Also, the increasing adoption of “mini rooms” where a few writers are hired only during pre-production, sometimes for a series that may take a year to get approved or may never be approved, is a concern.

Sanchez-Witzel, co-creator of the recently launched Netflix series “Survival of the Thickest,” mentioned the traditional practice of hiring sizable writing teams for the length of production. But Netflix denied her the chance to retain her writing team past pre-production, leading to incessant rewrites with just one other writer.

Sanchez-Witzel compared her experience to that of UPS drivers, who participated in WGA protests while preparing for their own potentially devastating strike. A provisional contract agreement between UPS and the Teamsters averted the strike last week.

Jeffrey Palmerino, a full-time UPS driver from Albany, New York, stated that the pandemic saw an exponential rise in orders comparable to the holiday season, leading to forced overtime. This constant overwork became standard with 14-hour workdays in trucks without air conditioning, with no certainty of finishing times or guaranteed days off.

After negotiating for pay increments and air conditioning, the Teamsters secured concessions from UPS which Palmerino hopes will alleviate the overworking issue. UPS has agreed to abolish forced overtime on off days and do away with a category of lower-paid drivers working weekend-inclusive shifts, transitioning them to full-time roles. Union members still have to approve the deal.

While the tentative agreement is seen as a game-changer by the Teamsters and labor activists, hoping it would encourage other companies facing labor unrest to elevate their standards, it’s unclear whether industries lacking UPS’s essential economic role or its large union’s influence can expect similar results.

Efforts to establish unions at Starbucks and Amazon have been met with fierce resistance.

However, Patricia Campos-Medina, the executive director of the Worker Institute at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, believes labor protests will likely gain momentum following the UPS contract. A report from the university earlier this year showed a 52% increase in labor strikes in 2022.

According to Campos-Medina, the pandemic has shattered the notion that consumer convenience is paramount. It has led people to appreciate the workers behind the scenes who make their comfort possible.

Leslie Ambriz, a video journalist from Big Big News, contributed to this report from Los Angeles.

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