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206

US delivery workers swelter in record heat – many without AC in their vans (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

22 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Amid rising temperatures last year, unionized UPS workers made heat an issue – but despite a key contract win, workers say little progress has been made

…

The company’s dark aluminum package vans can amplify outdoor heat, with workers having recorded temperatures over 120F (49C) in the vehicles.

The heat is not merely uncomfortable but also dangerous, with drivers suffering heatstroke on the job each summer and incidents turning fatal in some cases. Pacic has seen these dangers in his own region: this month, a UPS driver was hospitalized after getting into an accident while experiencing heat exhaustion, union officials say. And last August, Chris Begley, a 28-year UPS veteran, suffered a medical emergency while driving in 103F heat. He died four days later.

Amid spiking temperatures last summer, 340,000 unionized UPS workers made heat a key issue during labor negotiations with their employer. They secured a major win when, as part of a new union contract, the company agreed that each of the iconic chocolate-brown package vans it purchased after 1 January would include air conditioning – part of a commitment to equip 28,000 package cars with the cooling devices by the contract’s end on 31 July 2028.

Today, however, the union says UPS has made little progress toward that goal. CNN reported last month that it has not purchased any new vans since 1 January, and as such, only a small fraction of its delivery drivers have access to cooling technology.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

I wonder how effective AC would be in many cases… I regularly see delivery vans from Amazon, UPS, USPS, etc. driving around with their doors open. In some cases it seems to be all about speeding up deliveries even by a few seconds, especially for Amazon drivers.

I suppose if they took breaks they could close up the truck and cool down, but that assumes they would have time for it…

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago

Humans live in a world where it is expected that other people labour and die for their own convenience. And, if those dying workers complain, it isn't 'professional'.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago (2 children)

This union sounds incompetent and the drivers should literally refuse to work without retrofitted AC.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Um, ok fuck you first of all. This union administration is trying to make up for several contracts worth of handouts to the company. The contract we got last year gave us iirc 67 additional benefits including raises, AC, retirement benefits, job security, and more.

In regards to the AC issue, the company and union agreed that by the end of the contract 28k new trucks would be purchased after 1/1/2024 and every truck purchased after that date would come with AC. Its true the company is dragging their feet here but they arent failing any expectations. We cant just refuse to work because the company hasnt been in violation on anything yet.

If you want to play the blame game you dont start with the union.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

if you're required to work when ambient temps are higher than core body temp any other win is worthless. one of those 67 benefits better be life insurance.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Sadly, refusing to work means making no money, and making no moneys means not being able to live.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (2 children)

If you are in a union and don't have a strike fund, then you are an idiot. You should expect to strike at any moment if need be. This sounds like a need.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

You can’t strike after agreeing to a contract bud. Ups isn’t in violation of the contract.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

It's funny how compliance to a contract is a one way street. Don't strike then, just go very slow. Your package from the next town over will take two weeks.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

If you are in a union and don't have a strike fund, then you are an idiot.

The thing about working poverty is that you don't have many savings.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

That's why you vote for a union. Those are nurse job numbers.

By the end of the new contract, full-time UPS delivery drivers will make an average of $49 per hour, which works out to nearly $102,000 per year, assuming a 40-hour workweek, 52 weeks a year. Those employees are guaranteed an eight-hour workday, a UPS spokesperson told CBS MoneyWatch.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ups-drivers-170000-pay-benefits-compensation/

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

There’s no excuses for not including AC in their new electric vans — it’s the same system that’s needed to temperature regulate the batteries.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/22/business/ups-delivery-vans-air-conditioning/index.html

https://www.npr.org/2023/06/14/1182147381/ups-workers-facing-extreme-heat-win-a-deal-to-get-air-conditioning-in-new-trucks

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

They already agreed to include it in new vans. The issue they're complaining about is that UPS hasn't purchased new vehicles this year, so no progress is being made.

I didn't realize they were going electric already, which would require that essentially anyway, so that was literally a "free" concession on the UPS side. That was going to happen simply by proxy anyway.

If that's all true... then is this a case of UPS actively trying to avoid installing AC, or just a side effect of UPS purchasing new vehicles in bulk at set intervals as they age, that don't happen to have happened in the last 8 months? Did UPS purchase a ton of new vehicles in the time between the Union agreement and January 1st? If so, were those purchases already in the works, or were they setup specifically to avoid this provision? Does UPS already have spare vehicles in their fleet when the current ones in use break down completely meaning they don't need to purchase replacements currently?

I don't think this is nearly as simple as the article and complaint is trying to make it sound, even with the fact the current trucks don't have AC is bullshit to begin with.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

Its definitely a case of UPS trying to kick the can down the road with a smidge of other factors. They cannot be in violation of the contract if they still have 4 years of contract left to be in compliance