Don’t Let Delivery Drivers Die From Dehydration and Heatstroke

Target: Carol Tome, CEO of UPS, Inc.

Goal: Protect delivery drivers and warehouse workers from heat-related on-the-job injuries.

They have experienced cramping, vomiting, headaches, cognitive issues, and in some cases have fainted and injured themselves. When they plea for help, they are reportedly given insufficient medical aid, no aid at all, or are even returned to work. This is the reality United Parcel Service (UPS) workers have faced during the hottest month on record, as evidenced when a doorbell video captured an employee nearly fainting on a porch. Despite the fact that 100 employees have experienced serious heat-related illnesses in recent years (and those numbers are only the recorded incidents), the company that should be protecting these human beings continues to maintain that it’s done nothing wrong.

UPS touts its allegedly strong policies on heat conditions, which are supposed to include hydration, breaks, and immediate medical attention for affected workers. Yet many employees claim that these safeguards are routinely disregarded in the company’s quest to pump out as many deliveries as possible, even at the expense of workers’ well-being. Despite the fact that the temperature in the back of a UPS delivery truck can soar past 150 degrees, the company still provides no air conditioning in either its trucks or its warehouses. As extreme heat becomes the new normal, these vulnerable workers will be on the front lines of its cataclysmic effects on healthcare.

Sign the petition below to demand this organization put public health before profit.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Ms. Tome,

“We care deeply about the health and safety of all our people.” These words were spoken in public regarding the allegations that UPS is failing its workers in regards to extreme heat conditions. In private, employees tell a different story, with many seemingly speaking out in spite of threats from senior management. These individuals speak of being forced to work in 100-plus degree heat with no air conditioning, of being pushed past their physical limits with increasingly demanding delivery schedules, and of succumbing to various dangerous heat-related illnesses. And they all share damning stories of how their complaints and concerns were met with dismissal at best and hostility at worst.

Continue playing defense and ignoring urgent health warnings at your own peril. If an employee should ever die because of circumstances that could be prevented with caring action, who do you think will be blamed? These human beings deserve better. Listen to them, and implement the changes they desperately need.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo Credit: Mr. Choppers