UPS and union leaders have reached a tentative agreement to equip delivery vehicles with air conditioning and other heat protections.
The agreement comes as the two sides negotiate on a new contract, with UPS Teamsters threatening to strike.
“Today’s progress was a significant step towards a stronger new reality for so many workers and their families,” said General President Sean M. O’Brien as reported in a Teamsters tweet.
In a press release Tuesday morning, UPS said the new measures “build on important actions rolled out to UPS employees in the spring, including new cooling gear and enhanced training.”
The agreement would mandate that UPS brown package cars purchased after Jan. 1, 2024 include in-cab air conditioning systems. Regular package cars, which make up the majority of the company’s 93,000-vehicle fleet, will be outfitted with two fans.
“We care deeply about our people, and their safety remains our top priority. Heat safety is no exception,” the UPS release states.
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UPS drivers hospitalized due to heat
As the New York Times reported in 2022, at least 270 UPS and United States Postal Service drivers have been sickened or hospitalized due to heat exposure since 2015.
Rising summer temperatures and worsening heat waves create more dangerous conditions for UPS drivers. Last year, a UPS driver in Arizona collapsed on a front porch from the heat.
UPS strike would be among the largest in history
Last week, the local unions representing UPS Teamsters began conducting an election for the Teamsters National Negotiating Committee to call a nationwide strike at UPS in case an agreement was not met. Results of the vote to authorize a strike are scheduled to be announced Friday, June 16, according to UPS Teamsters.
While the results of the vote have not been announced, if the 340,000 UPS Teamsters decided to strike, it would be the largest single-employer strike in U.S. history, according to CNN.
In addition to air-conditioned vehicles, the union is demanding higher pay and closing the pay gaps between different types or workers.
Negotiations continued Wednesday in Virginia.
