By Refusing to Prioritize Drivers' Safety, UPS Risks Major Strike

[douglas9]

In late August, as temperatures soared around the United States, a driver for United Parcel Service (UPS) took before-and-after photos of chocolate chip cookies on a baking sheet. The delicious-looking confections were baked on the dashboard of a UPS truck whose internal temperatures shot to dangerous levels—not in an oven. It was an ingenious way to showcase the modern-day horror of the climate crisis intersecting with corporate greed.

Business Insider, which republished the photos, explained that “drivers are documenting extreme heat conditions in their vehicles by sharing photos of thermometers clocking 150 degrees and cooking steaks and baking cookies on their dashboards.”

It’s not just cookies and steaks that are baking in the trucks. Drivers are collapsing and dying from the extreme temperatures.

Twenty-four-year-old Esteban Chavez Jr., who had worked for UPS for four years, died on a hot day in June in Pasadena, California, after passing out in his truck while he was delivering packages. About 20 minutes after he fell out of the driver’s seat, a homeowner nearby noticed and called authorities, but it was too late. Chavez’s family believes he died of heatstroke.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/09/05/by-refusing-to-prioritize-drivers-safety-ups-risks-major-strike/

[in2herbs]

1. About a month ago I had a UPS delivery. I live in AZ. The driver was kind enough to carry

the packages into my garage. I asked if he had enuf to drink. He said he had water. Told him he also needed e-lytes. He didn't have any. Gave him a couple of my bottles in addition to a tip. We then discussed the video of the Phx. UPS driver caught on someone's ring camera who was in extreme heat distress. He said he knew the driver and that UPS drivers were trying to convince UPS mgmt. to put AC in the trucks but mgmt. was not agreeing. Even if drivers drive with their doors open air conditioning will help. I hope it comes down to an OSHA issue.

[leftyladyfrommo]

2. My mail service is so bad I would never be able

to tell if there was a strike.

[ProfessorGAC]

4. This Is UPS, Not USPS

I don't know about every post office, but the trucks here have A/C.
I've never seen a UPS truck with it.

[crickets]

3. K&R for visibility.

[surrealAmerican]

5. Why is this even legal?

The drivers could very easily black out behind the wheel in these temperatures.