Driving a UPS truck in the peak of Texas heat, where it’s often 100 degrees or hotter, feels like sitting in a sauna, Deanna Gentry says.
“Even though your door’s open and you have a fan—when the sun is directly on you—it’s very, very hot, and you can’t escape it,” said Gentry, who has worked for United Parcel Service Inc. for more than 30 years.
Gentry has closely watched the company fail to quickly deliver on a key promise to equip its vehicles with air conditioning, part of a collective bargaining agreement signed two years ago that included heat protection provisions.
“When they were able to put in the cameras it was almost overnight we all had cameras in our cars,” she said. “I feel like heat safety is more important to me than the cameras.”
After winning a historic agreement with UPS that required the delivery of at least 28,000 air-conditioned vehicles, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, along with other unions, are left fighting a two-front war of seeking contractual protections and a federal standard that provides heat protections for workers.
UPS has delivered only 10% of its promises so far, according to the Teamsters. “They are behind, very far behind—the heat is impacting our members and they need to speed up this process,” said Kara Deniz, the union’s assistant director of strategic initiatives.
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