There is a strong potential of a strike by United Parcel Service (UPS) represented staff upon their contract expiration on July 31, 2023. Negotiations are ongoing but, if unfruitful, UPS workers are likely to strike as of August 1, 2023. This potentially disruptive situation will likely affect most campus departments and purchasers, and Supply Chain Management (SCM) has proactive strategies to ensure continuous operations during this challenge.

SCM and University of California Procurement are working closely to avoid the delay or loss of critical goods by maintaining clear and timely communications. Outlined below are recommendations for specific actions.

Delivery Recommendations
As of July 17, to avoid potential delivery problems with critical inbound goods, any orders/purchases you make should be routed through alternate delivery services, such as FedEx, USPS, DHL, etc. Systemwide Procurement is in the process of identifying suppliers without UPS exposure or with adequate mitigation plans in place to greenlight them for continued use in case a strike does occur. See the list of frequently used UCSF suppliers below or check the Supplier Greenlight Status folder.

Generally, suppliers determine shipping options but if there is a choice, please avoid UPS. If UPS is the only option, we advise you to find a different supplier or delay the purchase.

Managing Expectations
UPS owns approximately 40 percent of the market share of global delivery services so be aware that all suppliers and purchasing outlets will be transitioning to alternate carriers if there is a strike. We expect that delays will occur with all shipping sources due to capacity challenges. During this time, please limit your purchases to critical items to avoid overtaxing these alternate services.

Working together and following these recommendations, we hope to maintain close-to-optimal operations during this uncertain time. We will update our website and notify you as the situation evolves. Thank you for your cooperation.