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As summer weather continues to break records, UPS workers are feeling the heat. Drivers and warehouse workers are waiting for the heat protection they were promised last year.

Gage Lacharite has been working at UPS for 8 years.

He is a member of the Teamsters, a union for freight drivers and warehouse workers.

Last year, the Teamsters pushed for new fans in warehouses and air conditioning in UPS trucks.

“The back of the truck is like an oven and you’re sifting around for 10 to 15 minutes, it’s dangerous. It’s super dangerous.”

According to CNN, UPS has not purchased any new vans with air conditioning, despite promising to do so in a contract signed with the Teamsters union last year.

According to Lacharite, no new fans were installed at the UPS warehouse in Tampa either.

Yachacia Royals has been with UPS for 7 years.

“It’s really hot in there, they never clean. The fans are full of dust. I mean, there were so many dust mites for years.”

In a statement to WMNF, UPS officials say the company continues to purchase and deploy new vehicles with air conditioning as quickly as possible.In addition, UPS has equipped the vast majority of vehicles with heat shields and improved air intakes to better cool the cargo area.

UPS also told WMNF that the company has installed nearly 14,000 additional fans at its facilities.

Read UPS’s full statement below:

Last year, UPS and the Teamsters agreed to additional measures to protect our employees while working in the heat. We are on schedule or ahead of schedule on all of our contractual obligations, and today we have hundreds of air-conditioned vehicles on the road.

The agreement with the Teamsters included equipping all new vehicles purchased after January 1, 2024 with air conditioning, as well as modifying our existing package vehicles to improve airflow, temperature and comfort for our drivers. We will continue to purchase and deploy new vehicles with air conditioning as quickly as possible. We have also equipped the vast majority of our vehicles with heat shields and improved air intakes to better cool and ventilate the cargo area.

Here is a summary of our additional efforts to ensure the safety of our employees:

• We invest more than $409 million annually in safety training across the U.S., continually enhance our heat safety training, equip our employees with specialized cooling equipment, and add devices to our vehicles and facilities that protect our employees from the heat.
• We provide regular training and education on Recharge, our health and safety program developed in collaboration with experts in sports hydration and heat protection. As part of the program, we provide regular follow-up training and reminders on the importance of:
  • Give yourself enough rest and take care of yourself before and after work.
  • Eat foods rich in water and drink plenty of fluids throughout the day.
  • Take additional breaks if necessary.
  • Know the signs and symptoms of heat illness.
• We’ve worked with experts at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute and the Korey Stringer Institute at the University of Connecticut to study different working conditions and continue to improve our training to help our employees work safely – especially on hot days.
• We have also partnered with MISSION®, a major sportswear company specializing in cooling fabrics, and have distributed over 440,000 pieces of specialized cooling equipment to our drivers and inside staff.
• We’ve equipped drivers across the U.S. with over 96,000 water containers to keep them hydrated, and all employees have access to cool, fresh water and ice at our facilities.
• We have installed an additional 1,500 ice machines and 1,700 water dispensers in our facilities, as well as nearly 14,000 additional fans.
• We have installed over 200,000 fans in our delivery vans.
• We have fitted over 76,000 delivery vehicles with exhaust heat shields. These heat shields can reduce the temperature of the vehicle floor by up to -9°C, according to preliminary tests.
• We have equipped over 74,000 vehicles with air scoop intake technology, which directs fresh air into the cargo area and thus offers our drivers additional cooling comfort.