PHILADELPHIA — A change to how some packages are delivered is causing confusion for some customers.
UPS SurePost packages are no longer being delivered by the United States Postal Service after a contract between the two entities expired.
The union representing UPS workers says it’s like the holiday season never ended.
“Because it was almost like Christmas is over, but now we get into the ‘SurePost Christmas,'” said Richard Hooker from Teamsters Local 623.
UPS SurePost is a shipping service for smaller packages that typically takes 2 to 7 days.
The company formerly had an agreement with the Postal Service in which UPS would transport packages to the nearest post office to the recipient, and then the Postal Service would handle the final delivery.
That contract expired at the end of 2024. That means UPS is delivering all of its own packages.
“We are overloaded, which is a good thing and a bad thing because it kind of caught workers off guard,” said Hooker.
The change has been hard to understand for some customers.
“Our clients are experiencing a lot of confusion about the current process,” mentioned Debbie Anday from Stash Spot Mailbox Services in Philadelphia, a facility where people can rent mailboxes to securely store their packages.
“You can have your packages mailed to us, you’re notified when they come in and you come in and pick them up whenever you’re ready,” said Anday.
Since the expiration of the SurePost contract, customers have been uncertain about the appropriate delivery destination for their packages, particularly as only the Postal Service has the capability to deliver to P.O. Boxes.
“You’re wasting your time dropping it off to the wrong place or you’re also at risk of completely losing that package and never seeing it again,” she said.
Because of this, customers have to be careful about where they ship their packages. If it’s UPS, it has to be a physical address.
The Teamsters union says despite the confusion, this is a good thing for workers.
“Our UPS members are getting more of that work which creates more jobs, more opportunities for overtime,” said Hooker.
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