Delivery Drivers with No AC, Forced to Confront Heatwave Head On: Amazon, UPS, Fedex..
- Delivery drivers are forced to confront the heatwave head on, NPR, July 21, 2023. Ed.
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Who are they? Delivery drivers all across America who bring your Amazon, UPS and Fedex packages to your front doorstep. In 2021, it was reported that Amazon was employing over 1 million people in the US, fulfilling a bevy of roles for the e-commerce giant. Amazon, as well as Fedex and DHL, hire private subcontractors to handle their package deliveries – in many cases separating them from the actual process.
🔥 What's the big deal? As several parts of the U.S. are struggling to cope with historically high temperatures, these package delivery drivers are feeling the heat. NPR's Danielle Kaye reported that at least 8 UPS drivers were hospitalized for heat-related illness last summer, and dozens more have reported heat stress in recent years, according to federal data on work injuries.
Air conditioning in vans can be unreliable and prone to breaking, and repairs can be subjected to a long and drawn-out process due to Amazon's use of 3rd-party repair companies. The poor working conditions have driven one of the small businesses who make up Amazon's delivery network to organize and form a union – they feel they have been retaliated against by Amazon after having their contract terminated.
The biggest delivery companies aren't legally required to safeguard most of their drivers from the heat. There are no federal heat safety rules for workers.
What are people saying? Kaye spoke to workers on the ground to hear about their experiences working in these conditions. Viviana Gonzales, a UPS driver for nearly a decade, who does not have a functioning air conditioner in her truck, & has reported temperatures of up to 150 degrees: We don't have AC inside the trucks. The fans are just throwing hot air, so all it does is irritate my eyes. I already probably drank more than a gallon of water, no kidding. Like literally, a whole gallon of water since I started work [5 hours ago]...https://www.npr.org/2023/07/21/1187891092/delivery-drivers-are-forced-to-confront-the-heatwave-head-on