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Well-paid engineers and lower-paid delivery drivers alike are marveling at the pay stub of a UPS driver.
A Reddit user posted an apparent copy of their UPS paycheck to the site on Tuesday — and it quickly went viral. For 49 hours of work, the UPS driver made more than $2,400 before taxes, according to the paycheck that was posted.
Insider couldn't independently verify the paycheck, and the original poster didn't return a request for comment. Still, the pay appears to track with a recent pay bump that drivers negotiated with UPS through their union.
"I'm a UPS delivery driver. I have nothing more than a high school diploma," the caption to the post read. "How is this even possible? My union, the Teamsters."
UPS reached a deal with the Teamsters union that saw an agreement for its full-time delivery drivers to receive total compensation of $170,000, when including benefits — about $25,000 more than they made before the agreement.
News of the raise sent shockwaves through some of the US workforce, as some well-paid tech workers weren't sure if they should feel admiration or outrage.
The revelation of one driver earning more than $2,400 — before taxes — for about a week of work sparked similar reactions from some Redditors.
In the comments, fellow delivery drivers and college-educated white-collar professionals compared their own salaries. They said the UPS driver made more. Other commenters took the time to congratulate the driver and emphasize what they said was the need for pay transparency.
One Redditor wrote that he made less as an aerospace engineer. An Amazon driver chimed in to complain that they're paid $17 to perform what they said was essentially the same job.
The original poster replied to the comments explaining that they'd worked at UPS for five years as a driver and for two as a package handler before that. Despite the good paycheck, the driver goes home "exhausted every night." Insider couldn't confirm the driver's identity.
Meanwhile, some users said they changed their stance on unions after reading how lucrative the union-protected job is. "I've been anti-union for a LONG time, but looking at that, you can now call me pro-union," one comment read.
UPS delivery drivers can take on hot summers and long work hours on trucks without air conditioning.
A 57-year-old UPS driver in Texas died after collapsing on the job. As part of the recent agreement with the Teamsters, UPS trucks will have AC installed starting next year.
