MCKINNEY, Texas — Days after a driver passed out and crashed due to the heat, the local Teamsters union showed up to the UPS facility in McKinney on Wednesday demanding the company uphold the promises made and signed during a collective bargaining agreement last year.
Workers and representatives with the union said they’re demanding better working conditions, especially in this Texas heat.
They held signs that read “UPS agreed to AC, where is it” and “Respect the Contract”.
UPS said in the agreement that all new vehicles purchased after Jan. 1 would be equipped with air conditioning and modifications to existing vehicles.
The company said hundreds of vehicles with A/C are already on the road and they are on or ahead of schedule for deploying the new vehicles and modifications.
In a recorded video statement, Jim Mayer a spokesperson with UPS said, “We’ve also equipped the vast majority of our current fleet with both enhanced air intakes and heat shields to better ventilate the cargo area.” The company said it also supplies drivers with water jugs and fans.
But Dave Reeves, President Teamsters Local 767 pushed back saying, “Currently, right now in our jurisdiction here in North Texas, we have over 2,000 drivers in our area and no tone of the trucks to my knowledge have AC in them currently as we sit today.”
Jonathan Gonzalaz is a driver for UPS out of the McKinney Center. He said he loves his job, but it can be difficult in the summer months with the excessive temperatures.
“It gets hot,” he said. “If it’s 106 degrees out here that’s our air conditioning,” Gonzalaz said.
Gonzalez's concerns about heat exhaustion grew after what happened to the driver last Friday.
The union did say the man was released from the hospital and is at home recovering.
“It really hurts my heart,” he said.
Gonzalez said he's hoping the improvements will make his work conditions a little better.
UPS said they've invested more than $400 million annually on safety training and equipment in its vehicles and at its facilities.