UPS Rank-and-File Focus: Rick Johnson
UPS Teamsters like Rick have been suffering deadly conditions in the heat for decades. But as the climate warms and the summers get ever hotter, Teamsters have made the issue of extreme heat a priority during the contract campaign.
Rick, a 29-year package car driver and member of Teamsters Local 63 in Southern California, describes the brutal conditions that our National Negotiating Committee never stops reminding UPS management of during negotiations. That persistence led to a historic tentative deal last week to provide air conditioning and other protections from the heat in package cars. With these tentative gains in-hand, the Teamsters will continue to fight on and make more progress around heat to protect all members at UPS.
"When you open the bulkhead door in the package car to look for packages, it's like running into a brick wall — it's so hot," said Rick. "As soon as you go back there, you start sweating. You can't touch the shelves or you'll get burned. The trucks are like an oven. I tell drivers you gotta open the door to let some air out. You can't stay back there with the doors closed or you will pass out. It's absolutely time to make UPS feel the heat — because we feel it every day."