The typical UPS truck doesn’t embrace air con. And with record-setting warmth sweeping the nation, many drivers — caught cooking of their giant steel field autos for as much as 12 hour shifts — have had sufficient.
This comes as a uncommon window to barter with the corporate is opening. About 340,000 UPS staff are lined by the biggest union contract in North America — set to run out in 2023.
“The Teamsters will not stand by and allow a multibillion-dollar employer to force our members into extreme heat without the protection they need to avoid heat-related illness and death,” mentioned Sean O’Brien, common president of the Teamsters Union, which represents UPS staff. O’Brien, different labor organizers and a crowd of UPS staff kicked off labor negotiations at a rally Monday morning in Southie.
Heat-related sickness, staff have mentioned, will not be unusual on the job. And fatalities are an actual risk.
Just weeks in the past in July, a 24-year-old UPS driver in Pasadena, Calif., died in his truck whereas temperatures have been within the higher 90s.
His household has since joined the decision for warmth security protections for UPS employees, in accordance with Business Insider.
“We are 365 days away from a potential strike,” O’Brien mentioned. “We are 365 days away from negotiating, I think, the best labor contract we possibly can. There are two choice, we either get the best contract or we put this company on the street and set an example for the entire labor movement.”
Heat protections are removed from the union’s solely precedence, however they’re “a major issue heading into negotiations,” in accordance with a Teamsters launch.
“By refusing to implement these safety measures, the company is literally sending drivers out to die in the heat,” O’Brien mentioned, including the union will “confront the company aggressively” to demand instant motion.
The union’s instant asks embrace followers in each truck, an ice machine in each facility, and PPE-like lighter materials uniforms.
OSHA requirements cited by the union name for firms to make use of any “feasible method to abate … heat-related hazards that are likely to cause death or serious bodily harm.”
A Teamsters launch famous that although the corporate has had “record earnings” within the final 12 months and added cameras to autos, it hasn’t change warmth security protocols — “compounding long-held grievances about the company’s priorities.”
An announcement from UPS mentioned autos have venting and insulated roofs; followers, water and ice can be found; and the corporate gives common warmth security coaching.
“We never want our employees to continue working to the point that they risk their health or work in an unsafe manner,” the assertion learn, noting that the corporate creates channels to obtain and deal with complaints.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”