Essential and Exposed: Anxiety Spreads Among UPS, FedEx Drivers

In the new coronavirus economy that divides labor into essential and nonessential, truckers and parcel delivery drivers have become some of the most indispensable -- and most exposed -- workers as shut-in Americans rely more on online shopping.

Employees at <-bsp-bb-link state="{"bbHref":"bbg://securities/UPS%20US%20Equity/BICO","_id":"00000171-32ee-d981-a97d-fbfe31230000","_type":"0000016b-944a-dc2b-ab6b-d57ba1cc0000"}">United Parcel Service Inc. and FedEx Corp. work in close quarters to load packages, and wonder about the risks they’re taking with every box that’s been handled by multiple other people. Truckers carry goods in and out of cities locked down by the disease and worry about how they’ll get paid if they get sick.

Alongside a realization of the ...