Calling Santa's helpers. UPS wants you to work for its company this holiday season.

The U.S. Postal Service is ending discounts that shipping consolidators such as UPS and DHL use to get packages to the nation’s doorsteps, in a move meant to help the Postal Service slow losses but that could see the higher costs passed on to consumers.

Blockbuster job growth in the past several months has coincided with high-profile layoff announcements by a number of large companies.

You found the perfect holiday gift online.

Drastic changes in consumer demands are driving labor unrest in diverse industries upended by technology.

A delivery driver drove right through freshly laid cement in a Royal Oak neighborhood, causing some frustration.

As the deadline to reach a new contract nears, a potential UPS strike feels closer than ever.

The Teamsters said Wednesday they will resume contract negotiations with UPS next week, marking an end to a stalemate that began two weeks ago when both sides walked away from talks while blaming each other.

The head of the Teamsters said Sunday that he has asked the White House not to intervene if unionized UPS workers end up going on strike.

Unionized UPS workers voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike on Friday, setting the stage for a potential work stoppage if the package delivery company and the Teamsters can’t come to an agreement on a new contract.

The last time UPS workers walked of the job more than two decades ago, it crippled the shipping company.

Police say they have caught the man who stole packages from homes and UPS drivers in multiple cities. It went beyond theft, as police say the man was getting increasingly violent.

The holiday season is upon us and as you begin those celebrations, we thought you should know these important deadlines if you plan on shipping presents this year.

Now that December is here, many of us are eyeing those Christmas lists and checking off all the things.

Postal workers who recall packages and letters piled up in distribution hubs a year ago are gearing up for another holiday crush.

The Help Me Hank team has been tracking supply issues ranging from empty shelves to parents having trouble finding much-desired holiday toys.

A recording shows that the pilot of a twin-engine plane was repeatedly warned to fly straight and to climb before he crashed into a San Diego suburb, killing himself and someone on the ground.

UPS is expecting to hire more than 1,300 seasonal workers in Metro Detroit for the holiday season.

Slow mail delivery has been a problem for months in Metro Detroit.

People wait in line for the opening of a 24-hour, walk-up COVID-19 vaccination clinic hosted by the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium at Temple University's Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Friday, Feb. 19, 2021. Meanwhile, several states have complained about vaccination delays and have had to cancel appointments. Drug wholesaler McKesson, chosen by the federal government to distribute most COVID-19 vaccines, is handling shipments to hospitals and other medical providers. Moderna’s vaccine is shipped frozen, at minus 13 degrees Fahrenheit to 5 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 25 to minus 15 degrees Celsius). In Tennessee, the state’s health agency said distributors have been unable to pack and ship the COVID-19 vaccine this week due to the winter weather.

This undated photo of Elijah David Bertrand was provided by the Connecticut State Police, Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020. The 19-year-old is a suspect in the assault on a UPS truck driver in Watertown, Conn. on Tuesday, Dec. 22. Bertrand was arraigned Thursday on murder charges, accused of killing UPS driver Nathan Burk, 28, of Waterbury. Dozens of Burk's loved ones and co-workers gathered outside the Watertown UPS facility Wednesday. He was such a good soul,” said Kerry Langdeau, of Waterbury, told the TV station.

This undated photo of Elijah David Bertrand was provided by the Connecticut State Police, Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020. The 19-year-old is a suspect in the assault on a UPS truck driver in Watertown, Conn. on Tuesday, Dec. 22. (Connecticut State Police via AP)WATERTOWN, Conn. – A UPS employee sought in a deadly assault on a co-worker was taken into custody Wednesday, Connecticut state police said. The two men apparently were riding in the same vehicle before the assault, Connecticut State Police Trooper Joseu Dorelus said at a news conference. State troopers initially responded to a call about an accident involving a UPS truck in Watertown around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The United States Postal Service expects shipping traffic to increase the week of Dec. 7 and predicts the week of Dec. 14 to be the busiest for mailing, shipping and delivery. Links for shipping deadlines:Fedex is dubbing the holiday season “Shipathon,” saying the company will be up 22%. To help meet holiday deadlines, USPS is keeping some area post offices open for extended hours the next two Saturdays. To enjoy these fast and free shipping benefits (plus so much more), customers can sign-up for a 30-day free trial of Prime at www.amazon.com/prime. To read more about Amazon’s Holiday Shipping, Delivery, Pickups and Returns options visit the Day One blog at: www.amazon.com/holidaydelivery.

Wayne County is holding a meeting Monday morning to discuss what’s next and Macomb County is expected to receive about 2,000 doses. In November, Macomb County received its first freezer capable of keeping the vaccine stable until ready to thaw. Macomb County will also be storing and distributing for counties north of it -- Lapeer, St. Clair and Sanilac counties. Despite having some of the highest total confirmed cases of coronavirus in Michigan, Macomb County has one of the lowest growth rates in the state. Macomb County officials are expecting its delivery of the vaccine midweek.

Michigan healthcare officials will start distributing the vaccine to frontline workers. Ascension Hospital in Warren and five hospitals in the Henry Ford Health System will be able to store the vaccines in super cold freezers once they arrive. Henry Ford Health System CCO Dr. Adnan Munkarah said the they will be storing the vaccines at its hospitals in Detroit, Wyandotte, Macomb, West Bloomfield and Jackson. They have about 11,000 frontline workers who need vaccines, so a lottery system was set up and the first 1,000 workers know who they are. Frontline workers are asking for all the help they can get to keep that number down.

PORTAGE, Mich. – Workers at the Pfizer manufacturing facility in Portage filled boxes of the first authorized COVID-19 vaccine through the night into Sunday morning. Getting the vaccine delivered across the country is an enormous task. Right now boxes are being packed and loaded with vaccine with emphasis on quality control,” said Gen. Gus Perna, Chief Operation Officer of Operation Warp Speed. Perna said Saturday that shipping companies UPS and FedEx will deliver Pfizer’s vaccine to nearly 150 state locations. “It is so important that all vaccine that is available is utilized as a shot in the arm and nothing is wasted.

PORTAGE, Mich. – On Sunday morning, the first shipments of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine will leave the company’s manufacturing plant in Portage, Michigan. You can watch live coverage in the video player below. On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. US officials say the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine will begin arriving in states Monday morning. WATCH LIVE COVERAGE

DETROIT – U.S. officials say the nation’s first COVID-19 vaccine will begin arriving in states Monday morning. On Friday, the United States granted an emergency use authorization for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. According to CNN, Pfizer has told reporters covering its rollout that it expects the first shipments of its COVID-19 vaccine to leave the Michigan facility Sunday morning. On Saturday, the US Food and Drug Administration held a press conference on the first COVID-19 vaccine authorization. New COVID-19 cases are slowing but deaths continue to rise in Michigan.

On Friday, the United States granted an emergency use authorization for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. With the authorization, the vaccine will ship via FedEx and UPS, with the two carriers splitting the country in half. In Michigan, it will be UPS rolling out of Pfizer’s Portage cold farm with 85,000 vials slated for the state. In Michigan, a state built on hard work and innovation, a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine will be manufactured by Michigan workers at a Michigan business. My administration, led by Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, is developing a plan to distribute the vaccine, with a focus on our most vulnerable populations.

Trucks will roll out Sunday morning as shipping companies UPS and FedEx begin delivering Pfizer’s vaccine to nearly 150 distribution centers across the states, said Army Gen. Gustave Perna of Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s vaccine development program. Initially, about 3 million doses were expected to be shipped nationwide. Perna compared the vaccine distribution effort to D-Day, the U.S.-led military offensive that turned the tide in World War II. The vaccine was timed to arrive Monday so health workers could receive the shots and begin giving them, Perna said. The announcement came after revelations that the White House opted not to lock in an additional 100 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine for delivery in the second quarter of 2021.

Drug company Pfizer says it can ship nearly three million doses of its coronavirus vaccine right away across the U.S., with most of the doses coming from two plants in the Midwest. Vaccine doses are slated to be loaded onto trucks within hours at Pfizer’s plant in Portage, Michigan -- just outside of Kalamazoo -- and a center in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. At the directive of the the U.S. Military, FedEx and UPS will help deliver coronavirus vaccines throughout the country. In Michigan, UPS will be delivering the state’s 85,000 vaccines from the Pfizer cold farm in Portage. The first vials will be loaded onto cargo planes and trucks in extremely cold conditions, likely right alongside holiday gifts.

CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Residents in one Clinton Township neighborhood have gone days -- sometimes even a week -- without mail delivery. Postal Service in Detroit, and while she didn’t want to elaborate on camera about specific problems, Local 4 did receive a written statement. We apologize for any inconvenience that may have been experienced by customers living in the Clinton Township community. Local management is working with customers to resolve their concerns. Postal ServiceResidents told Local 4 that mail, as of Thursday, had resumed being delivered.

[MORE: These 3 apps will help you find the best holiday shopping deals, experts say | Doing a little online shopping? If you’re shipping gifts you want to arrive in time for Christmas, here are some recommended send-by dates for expected delivery by Dec. 25:USPS (excluding Alaska and Hawaii)Domestic Mail Class/Product Send-by Date USPS Retail Ground Service Dec. 15 First-Class Mail Service Dec. 18 Priority Mail Service Dec. 19 Priority Mail Express Service Dec. 23Click here for USPS holiday shipping dates for Alaska and Hawaii, military bases and overseas addresses. UPSShipping Option Send-by Date UPS Ground Dec. 15 UPS 3 Day Select Dec. 21 UPS 2nd Day Air Dec. 22 UPS Next Day Air Dec. 23Click here for more details on UPS holiday shipping. FedEx (U.S. to U.S.)Shipping Option Send-by Date FedEx SmartPost (certain exceptions apply) Dec. 9 FedEx Home Delivery Dec. 15 FedEx Ground Dec. 15 FedEx Express Saver Dec. 21 FedEx 3 Day Freight Dec. 21 FedEx 2 Day Dec. 22 FedEx 2 Day A.M. Dec. 22 FedEx 2 Day Freight Dec. 22 FedEx 1 Day Freight Dec. 23 FedEx Extra Hours Dec. 23 FedEx Standard Overnight Dec. 23 FedEx Priority Overnight Dec. 23 FedEx First Overnight Dec. 23 FedEx SameDay Dec. 25 FedEx SameDay City Priority Dec. 25 FedEx SameDay City Direct Dec. 25Click here to see last-day-to-ship dates if you’re planning to send gifts to Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico or other destinations. AmazonAmazon has not released its 2020 holiday shipping calendar, but last year, the company recommended buyers send products no later than Dec. 22 or Dec. 23 for a Dec. 25 arrival.

To make sure your gifts arrive before Christmas, follow the holiday shipping deadlines for the U.S. USPS holiday shipping deadlinesThe USPS recommends shipping your packages by the following dates if you want them to arrive before December 25. FedEx holiday shipping deadlinesFedEx recommends shipping your packages by the following dates if you want them to arrive before December 25. UPS holiday shipping deadlinesUPS recommends shipping your packages by the following dates if you want them to arrive before December 25. Amazon holiday shipping deadlines will vary depending on where you live, what you’re ordering and if you’re a Prime member.

And now, I’m already seeing holiday shopping ads and stories in our newscasts. If you’re not comfortable going to the store, check and see if you can buy direct from them through their website…including gift cards. Those gift cards will be celebrated! Those restaurant gift cards we buy just may keep our favorite eateries in business. So, before you plan your holiday shopping, make shopping local part of your plan.

Researchers around the globe are working to create a safe and effective coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine, but once that’s been accomplished, distributing that vaccine to the world’s population is going to be a massive challenge. Pfizer, in partnership with BioNTech, plans to make 100 million doses of its vaccine by the end of the year. “It really is working against the virus.”Meanwhile, companies such as UPS are preparing to pick up, store and deliver the vaccine. “A few months ago we started to get good information about what temperatures would be required for these vaccines,” Wheeler said. That’s not something people should be doing with COVID-19, so how to physically vaccine people will be another challenge after distribution.

BEIJING Stocks are falling on Wall Street Thursday as the markets see-saw week snaps back downward. The S&P 500 was 0.8% lower in midday trading, though it roughly halved its loss from earlier in the morning. Apache rose 17.3% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500 after it said it made a major discovery of oil off the coast of Suriname. Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Googles parent company are all up more than 12% this year, when the S&P 500 is down 0.2%. They alone account for nearly 16% of the S&P 500 by market value.

In Coral Gables, where the incident began, police said a jewelry store worker was also injured but could not say if she had been shot. It all began shortly after 4 p.m., when police in Coral Gables received a silent alarm at the Regent Jewelers store in the city’s Miracle Mile area. The chase ended when the truck got behind several vehicles at a crowded intersection. It was unclear if the shots were fired from inside the truck, from law enforcement who were moving in or some combination thereof. “And this is what people will do to avoid capture.”A bullet hit a window at Coral Gables’ City Hall, which was locked down, Hudak said.

Postal ServiceDec. 14: USPS Retail Ground shipments ✅Dec. 18: Alaska to mainland First-Class Mail ✅Dec. 19: Hawaii to mainland First-Class Mail and Priority Mail, also Alaska Priority Mail ✅*There’s still time for dates below! Dec. 20: First-Class Mail ServiceDec. 21: Priority Mail; Also deadline for Alaska and Hawaii to the mainland through Priority Mail ExpressDec. 23: Priority Mail ExpressTrying to send something overseas or to a member of the military? Click or tap here to check out the guide we followed from USPS, and to learn more about your mailing specifics and guidelines. FedExDec. 9: SmartPost ✅Dec. 16: Ground and home delivery ✅Dec. 19: Express Saver ✅*There’s still time for the dates below! As for Amazon deadlines, you’re likely looking at Dec. 22 or Dec. 23, depending on if you’re a Prime member, where you live and what you’re ordering.

(CNN) - UPS' familiar brown uniforms are getting their first major redesign since 1925. The fashion update will involve only new styles -- there will be no change to the uniform's ubiquitous brown color. Referring to its drivers as "industrial athletes," UPS said in a statement that the newly refreshed uniforms would improve their "comfort, safety and performance." The brown UPS baseball cap will be made from a "heat-regulating mesh material" instead of plastic. The redesigned uniforms are being phased in and are provided free of charge to employees.

Scott Olson/Getty ImagesDETROIT - UPS is looking for a little help for the holiday season. The company plans to hire 850 seasonal workers in the Detroit area. These jobs are among the 100,000 seasonal jobs UPS will be filling across the country this holiday season. UPS has established a temporary facility to help handle the extra seasonal volume. Copyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.

DETROIT UPS is looking for a little help for the holiday season. The company plans to hire 850 seasonal workers in the Detroit area. These jobs are among the 100,000 seasonal jobs UPS will be filling across the country this holiday season. Available positions locally include package handlers, delivery and tractor-trailer drivers. UPS has established a temporary facility to help handle the extra seasonal volume.

DETROIT - Here's what is coming up on Local 4 News at 4:Homicide victim searchPolice said they are searching for possible homicide victims in Macomb Township cold cases. Oakland County ExecutiveThe new Oakland County Executive was sworn in Monday in Pontiac. NYPD Garner decisionThe New York Police Department has fired the officer who put Eric Garner in a choke hold. Local ninjaA Plymouth man is taking his talents on NBC's American Ninja Warrior. Bleach warningIf you've been told to drink bleach to cure things like autism or cancer.

Scott Olson/Getty Images(CNN) - Next-day delivery is becoming standard at Amazon and Walmart. Amazon recently expanded its next-day delivery for millions of its Prime customers. In response, Walmart now offers next-day delivery on a large number of items too. UPS said it plans grow its airplane fleet and modernize its delivery network to have a "have a positive impact on profitability." UPS is also rapidly expanding its network of package-drop-off points, its drone delivery unit and its delivery week.

Following Amazon's rollout, Walmart unveiled free one-day shipping without a membership fee, and Target already had a free one-day program for its loyalty cardholders. That means consumers aren't feeling the true cost either environmental or financial of getting their e-commerce goods super quickly. "Prime Free One-Day is possible because we've been building our network for over 20 years," a spokesperson said in a statement. In general, it's very difficult to pin down the environmental impact of e-commerce, let alone how much of an effect delivery speed has on carbon emissions. If Amazon delivered everything in electric vehicles, one-day shipping might be just as climate-friendly as individual trips but in a recent big last-mile investment, Amazon ordered 20,000 conventionally-fueled delivery vans.