CJ Logistics Overnight on One Side... Next to Them, Union Members Having a Drinking Party

41% Remaining Processing Rate on 15th Day of General Strike
Physical Confrontations and More Intense Strikes

"I don't understand why they are wandering around without working even though they came to work. It seems like they smell of alcohol today."

In the community chat group where non-union delivery workers of CJ Logistics gather, complaints are pouring in real-time. As the CJ Delivery Union's general strike has extended beyond two weeks to the 15th day, the workload on non-union delivery workers has reached its limit. While non-union workers sort the accumulated parcels and continue working late into the night, union members are seen chanting slogans together and even holding drinking parties.

According to the CJ Logistics Agency Association on the 11th, as of the 9th, the total backlog of delayed deliveries at nationwide SUB terminals was about 250,000 parcels. This is only 41.8% of the volume processed compared to 430,000 parcels on the first day of the strike on the 28th of last month. This means that more than half of the customers who placed delivery orders at the end of last year still have not received their items.

Although about 1,000 non-union delivery workers and CJ headquarters dispatched roughly half of all directly employed drivers to the field urgently, the overload of delayed delivery work, especially at agencies with many union members, has not been resolved. The agency industry explained that the number of union members participating in the strike still remains in the 90% range, causing ongoing delivery disruptions.

A non-union delivery worker working in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, said, "Among union members, there is talk that if the strike succeeds and commission rates increase, the wages lost during the strike period will be fully compensated," adding, "Some non-union delivery workers even believe this and join the strike." However, the agency association confirmed that this information is not true.

As time passes, the strike behavior of union members is becoming more aggressive. A typical example is union members physically obstructing non-union workers by chanting slogans in groups while the latter are sorting parcels to prepare for delivery. In fact, at a CJ Delivery agency in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, a physical altercation between the branch manager and union members led to police intervention.

At some agencies, drinking parties are held during working hours, avoiding on-site cameras. A delivery worker dispatched from CJ headquarters said, "Union members lock the doors and control the entry of non-union delivery workers, and drinking parties are frequent in various places," adding, "They also monitor the surroundings to prevent the situation from leaking outside."

The problem is that as the CJ Delivery Union strike prolongs, it is affecting other domestic delivery companies as well. The Korea Post has suspended new parcel acceptance at some agencies in Seongnam, Gimpo, Icheon, and Ulsan since the day before. It is analyzed that overload is spreading to other delivery companies, especially in areas with many CJ Logistics union members.

An industry insider said, "Due to the CJ Delivery general strike, alternative shipments using other delivery companies like Hanjin and Logen are increasing," adding, "The problem is that if the strike continues for a long time, it will become increasingly difficult to handle the surge in parcels expected during the Lunar New Year holiday, which is less than two weeks away."