- The company does not air-condition its fleet of package trucks, Gaut added, because frequent stops and the size of the vehicles would render air conditioning "ineffective." He said that for similar reasons, UPS does not air-condition large warehouses with loading-dock doors that are usually open.
And there it is. And there it is again. But hey - that pickle they're telling you to pack? They didn't have to do that. I hear you on the dock doors. Loading docks scare the shit out of me. They're the kind of thing that becomes normal and no longer terrifying and then things get harried and you look up and someone's dead. Neighbor downstairs kept cats. Called to them every morning and every night. We noticed he stopped calling, though. Then the cats were around everywhere. Eventually they went away. Found out about two months later that the guy who took care of them - friendly, late-middle-aged guy in a dress shirt, tie and a dapper little hat - got pinned between a dock and a truck. Another neighbor told me that apparently there was just enough time to hold his hand and look into his eyes as he died. His invalid mom was in there; we didn't find out what happened to her. But we saw the cats for a while. They were skittish.drivers said they feel uncomfortable complaining at a company that offers one of the nation's best paying jobs for workers without college degrees.
Nearly two-thirds of the trucks used by FedEx, UPS' main competitor, are leased, and the company doesn't mandate that the vehicles be air-conditioned. FedEx told NBC News, however, that all of the more than 30,000 vehicles the company owns are air-conditioned.
The most common action OSHA has taken against UPS for heat conditions is issuing so-called "hazard letters." At least seven UPS facilities have received these letters since 2011, records show. Such letters outline hazards employees face and then recommend fixes, like adapting the schedule on high-heat days and ensuring workers take breaks. Making those fixes, however, is voluntary.
They've been coming around this week and giving out these So hey, everything is OK I guess. Spared no expense. Less than a year into my working here one of the area supervisors put in a call to pull the wrong trailer. Driver took off right as I was walking in. One of the lifers came up afterwards and said "I hear you almost died." Took a long time to realize he hadn't been joking. I'm sorry about your neighbor.But hey - that pickle they're telling you to pack? They didn't have to do that.
They're the kind of thing that becomes normal and no longer terrifying and then things get harried and you look up and someone's dead.
It's a blue collar occupational hazard. I knew a guy who worked at a smelter. I can't remember why but there were chunks of cyanide on the floor the size of hockey pucks. And molten metal. Everywhere molten metal. The workers tended to regulate their moods with coke and weed. Except my buddy, who failed a drug test, did some treatment, and realized that smelters sober are safer than smelters high but substantially more terrifying.