TAMPA, Fla. (WFTS) — Spend just a minute outside, and you'll feel the scorching heat. Tampa's heat index on Tuesday surpassed 100 degrees.
Simon Rowe isn't just dealing with the heat outside. Rowe's job with UPS adds some extra heat to the days.
"It's a difficult job, and we do have people who pass out at work," Rowe said. "I've gotten heat illness a couple times last year, and like, you do as much as you can on a personal level by like drinking water, but there's only so much that can do when it's 86 degrees."
Rowe contacted ABC Action News and sent us these pictures of the thermometer readings getting as hot as 128.8 degrees in the package car and surpassing 80 degrees inside the warehouse on Acline in Tampa.
"There are two things that UPS can do right now. One for the warehouse workers is install new fans so we have more circulating air, because the fans that we have are pretty old," Rowe said. "And they can also buy new patch package cars with A/C for the drivers."
We contacted the President of the Teamsters Local Union No. 79, Brian Rothman.
Rothman said in a statement:
“UPS is significantly behind on replacing package cars with air conditioning. This is unacceptable and UPS needs to take responsibility for the safety of their employees and our members. Teamsters Local 79 has confirmed that contractually required second fans have been installed in vehicles, but UPS must move quickly to deliver the air conditioned package cars our members need. Under the UPS Teamsters National Master Agreement, UPS has to replace 28,000 cars with A/C under the life of the agreement and they are far behind.”
"That's why I reached out to you. We're hoping that putting a lot of pressure on UPS from the outside, and people knowing what's going on inside the warehouses and inside the package cars will help convince ups to implement what they agreed to last year," Rowe added.
We also reached to UPS. They tell us:
The health and safety of our team members is important to us, and we are committed to providing a safe working environment for our employees. Last year, UPS and the Teamsters agreed to additional measures as part of our overall efforts to help keep our employees safe while working in the heat. We are on plan or ahead of schedule on all our contractual commitments. UPS has hundreds of vehicles with AC operating on the roads today and we will continue to purchase and deploy new vehicles with AC as quickly as possible. The agreement with the Teamsters also included making modifications to our existing package cars to improve airflow, temperature and comfort for our drivers. We have equipped the vast majority of our vehicles with heat shields and enhanced air intakes to better cool and ventilate the cargo area.
UPS also sent us a summary of their additional efforts to help keep their employees safe. Here's what they sent me:
- UPS has invested more than $409 million annually on safety training in the U.S., and continually enhance their heat safety training, outfitting workers with specialized cooling gear, and adding equipment to their vehicles and facilities that helps protect their people from the heat.
- UPS regularly trains and communicates on Recharge, their health and safety program that was developed in partnership with experts in athletic hydration and heat-safety. As part of the program, UPS regularly share follow-up training and reminders about the importance of
- Getting proper rest and taking care of yourself before and after work.
- Eating water-rich foods and hydrating throughout the day.
- Taking additional breaks whenever needed.
- Knowing the signs and symptoms of heat illness.
- UPS partnered with experts from the Gatorade Sports Science Institute and the Korey Stringer Institute at the University of Connecticut to study various working conditions and further improve training to help employees work safely – especially on hot days.
- UPS also partnered with MISSION®, a major active-wear company that specializes in cooling fabrics and have distributed more than 440,000 pieces of specialized cooling gear for drivers and inside staff.
- UPS supplied over 96,000 water jugs to drivers across the U.S. to help them stay hydrated, and all employees have access to cool, fresh water and ice in our facilities.
- UPS has installed an additional 1,500 ice machines and 1,700 water fountains in our facilities, and nearly 14,000 additional fans.
We’ve installed over 200,000 fans in our package cars.
- UPS has installed an additional 1,500 ice machines and 1,700 water fountains in our facilities, and nearly 14,000 additional fans.
- UPS has equipped over 76,000 delivery vehicles with exhaust heat shields. Those heat shields can reduce the vehicle floor temperature by up to 17 degrees F, according to preliminary tests.
- UPS has equipped over 74,000 vehicles with air scoop induction technology to feed fresh air to the cargo bay, providing additional cooling comfort to our drivers.
Rowe says there's still work to be done to ensure better safety for the workers.
"This is a system wide problem that needs system wide solutions, which is why we need heat vents in the package cars, A/C in the package cars, new fans in the warehouses. And maybe one day we can have warehouses with A/C because perhaps that's what the future will look like for us and figuring out new, newer and more creative solutions so everyone is safe at work," Rowe said.
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