A 57-year-old UPS driver in Texas died after collapsing in the heat while making deliveries
A 57-year-old UPS driver in Texas died after collapsing in the heat while making deliveries
Following months of negotiations with Teamsters, UPS announced in June that it would install air conditioning in new trucks starting next year. The company said it would send new trucks to the hottest parts of the country first, if possible. The company also said it would retrofit its existing package cars with cab fans, exhaust heat shields, and cargo area ventilation.
"While these improvements will make a difference in the months and years ahead, we had to fight like hell to secure them," the Teamsters union said in its social media post Thursday. "Chris Begley should still be alive to experience them. All companies, including UPS, need to remember that their past failings to protect workers can have deadly serious consequences in the future."
Chris Bagley should still be alive and it's a damn shame the Teamsters failed to protect him from social murder. Only new trucks? Only next year? They drove trucks without fans, heat shields, and ventilation? What the fuck.
The Teamsters could have, at the very least, demand a total halt on driving trucks without fucking fans. "Oh but that'll cause package delays!" Well I guess we just have to murder drivers for the sake of logistics.
If anyone tells me how great and historic the new contract is one more fucking time I'll fucking lose it.
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Sorry, you are only attacking the teamsters here?
Not a single word against the fucking company that would have done nothing and would have changed nothing in the future if not for the teamsters pushing for change?
Seriously, this sort of absolutist shit is stupid. So what do we do? We all stop working unless our work conditions are 100% perfect? It’s like people who constantly call for a general strike to change society. Sure, if you’re rich and can afford to stop working, that’s great for you. The rest of us fight for the changes we can get.
Straw man bs.
How about we quit working while our conditions can be deadly.
Are you seriously going to argue that that is unreasonable? Cmon.
If you delete the word ‘Texas’ many of us would probably just see this as unfortunate. If you’re over the age of 30 you probably grew up without ANY air conditioning, even where the temperature exceeded 100F a few days a year.
I’ve never been to Texas, so maybe this place is more like the Sahara than the east coast US.
You almost definitely did not do constant work outside, or especially in an oven, when it was 100F even in your made up world where there was no AC 30 years ago. At 100F 30% humidity you take breaks in the shade every 20 minutes for 20 minutes or you just die as a human. That humidity goes up 10% or that temp (lets say in an unairconditioned truck) goes up 10 degrees, and you literally cannot sweat away the heat, your body has no actual way to cool itself off no matter how much water you drink or how cold that water is.
Maybe my area was poorer than average over something, but we had no AC and I didn’t know anybody who did. If it was 100F, we went to a matinee because it was air conditioned. Mailmen still delivered even on those days. Granted, that is probably on average less weight.
But as I said, I’m not in Texas either.
Well he didn't stop working and look at where that got him.
You’ve got bad takes, bro.
A man is dead.
No shit and it’s not the first time. The union exists to progress its workers rights. Progress is progress. Perfect is the enemy of good, compadre. Fuck.
They could have gotten more if they had the guts to strike.
Wtf is this thread. I will never understand people who will try to justify shit like this. What does the average person think they're getting out of fighting against better working conditions and higher pay? This is why it's so funny when Americans say they aren't affected by propaganda. Only other countries have that.
Joe Biden told them the contract is good and historic, so it must be true.
Yeah, literally, what did Teamsters do wrong, here?
So UPS will only put ac in new trucks, sometime next year, and possibly get them to the hottest parts of the country, and old trucks will get "cabin fans" (?).
I know negotiations must be really difficult. I know everyone is relying on their jobs and paychecks to survive. But it seems like too often these corporations get away with half measures and vague promises because even when we revoke our labor, they're still the ones in control. Workers from a company like UPS seem like they should have more control than most though. Shutting down deliveries across the US indefinitely is a pretty big threat. So maybe they could have gotten better results.
The responsibility ultimately lies with UPS, though
The union has a responsibility to protect workers from UPS.
This comment acknowledges that UPS is doing the oppression, yet still somehow blames someone else
Amazing
The Teamsters share the blame for selling out instead of striking for safe working conditions. Deal with it.
I may agree that they share the blame, but their share is significantly smaller.
No, they have a responsibility to fight for protections for workers. They can’t implement it, UPS has too. Put your emphasis on UPS.
A responsibility they failed because they gave up the fight instead of striking.
Again, it’s UPS fault ultimately. It’s absurd to blame the union for not forcing UPS to do something over UPS not doing it in the first place.
The union exists to force the company to do anything in the first place! That's their only job! If UPS murders drivers it's because the union didn't strike and force them to stop.
More drivers will die because they didn't strike and force UPS to make its fleet safe.
If nothing else, ups should have done this is avoid workman’s comp claims.
I was shocked to find out they didn’t have AC
Iirc older trucks didnt, the upcoming trucks they have coming in should. I dont think the company has made a wide switchover to the new trucks yet.
I believe the transition starts next year. It was a very recent initiative. Old trucks are supposed to at leat get fans.
I don’t know the life span of an ups truck.
A fan can actually make things worse. When it becomes super heated, the fan can increase the heat.
Its worse if you cant sweat due to saturation of the air. The main benefit of the fan is to blow off sweat off the body so it can generate new sweat beads
The new trucks aren't even out yet. They didn't have AC for decades bro. You seem to be downplaying this for some reason. Literal decades.
Im not downplaying anything. Im just answering if the trucks have AC yet. What makes you think that Im siding with UPS of all companies?
I called it social murder. If there was any justice UPS would be nationalized and its management put in prisons.
Why would UPS be nationalized when we have the USPS?
To teach Amazon, DHS, and FedEx the lesson not to abuse their workers. Also Dejoy is shutting down the only Post Office in IB, and trying to shut down the USPS, so we really don't have the USPS
To remove the profit motive.
Lol you have the worldview of a 12 year old.. for your sake I hope you are 12