McKinney, Texas | UPS executives protest over working conditions

MCKINNEY, Texas – After a the driver lost consciousness and crashed due to excessive heat in North Texas, dozens of local members Union of teams appeared in UPS facility in McKinney in protest Wednesday morning, demanding that the company honor their collective bargaining agreement.

The union signed the agreement with UPS last year that required the company to protect drivers from overheating.

This agreement stated that all new vehicles purchased after January 1 would be equipped with air conditioning and modifications would be made to existing vehicles to improve air circulation and driver comfort. UPS said hundreds of AC vehicles are already on the road and they are on or ahead of schedule for new vehicle deployments and modifications.

The teams contested this, saying they have been left in the dark and unaware of how the vehicle distribution is going. Those attending Wednesday's rally included several drivers dressed in their brown UPS uniforms who held up signs that read “UPS accepted AC, where is it?” and “Respect the contract.”

Dave Reeves, President of Teamsters Local 767, said:

“Specifically for AC, the deal was that all new trucks purchased would have factory AC on them. Currently, now in our jurisdiction here in North Texas, we have over 2,000 drivers in our area and not one of the trucks in me. knowledge has AC in them at present as we sit today.”

The Teamsters say there have been three heat-related incidents at the McKinney facility alone this summer. UPS says they invest more than $400 million a year in training and safety equipment on their vehicles and in their facilities.

This also comes a week after the death of a UPS worker in Central Texas Luis Grimaldo from a heat-related illness, according to his colleagues. Central Texans have donated over $5,000 to help his family pay for funeral expenses.