Klenk survived, even though the incident led him to retire early. His spouse Theresa began a petition for UPS to air-condition their vehicles, which greater than 1 million folks have signed.
UPS drivers’ struggles with the warmth have become a key contest between the Teamsters union, which represents 340,000 UPS staff, and the corporate as they vote this week on whether or not to authorize one of the crucial greatest paintings stoppages in U.S. historical past if the events don’t achieve a contract by means of the top of July. One union poster guarantees to “make UPS feel the heat,” mentioning recorded back-of-truck temperatures of up to 140 levels.
“The inside of the truck is as hot as a pizza oven, they don’t lighten the loads on hot days,” stated Brooklyn, N.Y.-based UPS driving force Chris Cappadona, who went to the clinic final yr on account of warmth exhaustion.
The drivers’ union needs UPS to air-condition its fleet and supply staff extra water and ice. UPS has already presented to building up fan get admission to and to air-condition about 2 % of cars, Teamsters spokesperson Kara Deniz instructed The Washington Post on Thursday morning. UPS spokesperson Glenn Zaccara declined to touch upon ongoing negotiations.
UPS has already invested in lovers and “Cool Solutions” protection coaching, which inspires drivers to drink water, amongst different pointers. In the previous, the corporate has stated drivers’ widespread stops would make air conditioning useless as a result of they open and shut cars’ doorways. Zaccara stated drivers have “mixed” critiques on air conditioning and that UPS is “pursuing more effective means of cooling the cargo bay areas of our vehicles.”
At least 143 UPS employees have suffered critical warmth or dehydration-related accidents since 2015, in accordance to information the corporate stories to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. California-based UPS driving force Esteban Chavez died whilst handing over programs final June. His circle of relatives stated warmth stroke contributed to his demise at 24; UPS is blind to any reason for demise, Zaccara stated. Camera footage posted online final yr confirmed some other UPS driving force collapsing on a buyer’s doorstep in Arizona.
“There’s a lot of different ways that heat can affect our body — one is kidney failure, another is our heart. We even see that the brain can sometimes be affected,” stated Autumn Brogan, who works as an emergency drugs doctor on the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. In temperatures above 90 levels and in closed areas just like the again of a truck, lovers continuously don’t supply efficient air stream, she stated.
As annual reasonable temperatures in the United States upward push, drivers’ downside will most probably irritate. Parts of the United States have skilled record-high temperatures every of the previous 3 summers — a development weather scientists and climate forecasters say isn’t going away. UPS driving force and Teamsters Local 804 trade store steward Elliot Lewis stated weather alternate makes drivers’ call for for higher warmth coverage much more crucial.
Several of UPS’s competition have taken steps to air-condition their fleets. The U.S. Postal Service will start changing its vehicles with new climate-controlled fashions in 2024. DHL and FedEx’s company-owned vehicles also are air-conditioned, despite the fact that massive portions in their fleets are owned by means of 3rd events.
The Teamsters and UPS proceed to haggle over air conditioning as summer time temperatures blaze, together with in classes Thursday and Friday, Deniz stated. The union hopes to achieve a contract and avert a possible strike earlier than Aug. 1.
Until then, drivers will sweat.