UPS agrees to add air conditioning to trucks

The delivery company UPS and a union representing workers have reached a tentative agreement to add air conditioning to trucks that could help avoid a possible national strike that workers have threatened. 

UPS said in a release Tuesday that it reached an agreement with the Teamsters union to implement “heat safety measures” for workers. It said the company agreed to equip all newly purchased small package delivery vehicles in the United States with air conditioning starting on Jan. 1. 

The new vehicles will be provided to the hottest parts of the country where possible. 

“We care deeply about our people, and their safety remains our top priority. Heat safety is no exception,” the release states. 

UPS also plans to have package cars retrofitted with a cab fan within 30 days of a contract being ratified. It has already worked to install cab fans in the cars, and a second fan will be added to those without air conditioning by June 1, 2024. 

The release states that UPS will also include exhaust heat shields in the production of new package cars and will retrofit existing cars with them within 18 months of the contract being ratified. The shields minimize heat conduction from the powertrain into the vehicle’s floor, and tests have shown they can reduce floor temperature by 17 degrees. 

UPS will add an air intake vent to new cars and retrofit them to existing cars within 18 months of ratification to bring in fresh air to the cargo area. 

Teamsters said in a statement that the agreement came after a week of “intense lobbying” from its National Negotiating Committee on UPS to recognize the “enormous dangers of heat-related issues.” 

“Air conditioning is coming to UPS, and Teamster members in these vehicles will get the relief and protection they’ve been fighting for,” Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said. 

The union represents more than 340,000 employees for UPS. 

NBC News reported that more than 100 workers have been hospitalized for heat-related illness in recent years, including some who approached kidney failure as a result. The outlet reported that the tentative agreement could reduce the chances of the workers going on strike as they try to negotiate for a new five-year contract before a deadline of July 31. 

Teamsters said its subcommittees have reached tentative agreements on more than a dozen issues and are planning new proposals to UPS. It said bargaining would resume Wednesday.