UPS met its obligation to retrofit 2,000 parcel delivery vans with air conditioning in the hottest parts of the country by June 1 and recently started a pilot program for piping cooled air into the rear cargo area behind the bulkhead door, where drivers can be exposed to…
eltering conditions, Teamsters union General President Sean O’Brien said on Saturday. The progress on heat safety was made possible by vigilant enforcement of the 2023 national contract with UPS (NYSE: UPS), which has also resulted in workers winning many other grievance filings, O’Brien told rank-and-file members in a video message posted on social media
One of the hard-fought additions in the contract is the requirement for a first-ever standing arbitrator who can quickly rule on worker grievances, such as back pay. The Teamsters chief said the arbitrator has been critical to faster resolution of union grievances and hundreds of millions of dollars in awards to workers. UPS in October agreed to modify 5,000 delivery vehicles in hot zones with air conditioning systems after the Teamsters publicly called out the company for dragging its feet on commitments to purchase or retrofit 28,000 sprinter vans and package cars with in-cab air conditioning by the summer of 2027 to protect drivers from excessive heat conditions.
The first 2,000 retrofitted vehicles were delivered, as required, by June 1, O’Brien said. The rollout of the remaining 3,000 vehicles is supposed to be finished by June 1, 2027. The October agreement also requires the freight transportation company to upgrade 100 package cars with air conditioning vented into the cargo compartment.