Hi All – Many of you have been commenting on these updates with your own experiences of working at UPS. Thank you for telling your stories. We’re going to start sharing some of them on the petition so others can see what drivers and their families are going through. This is Brian’s story: 

"I started working for UPS in 1985. For 33 years, I drove my route near Boca Raton, Florida. I could count the number of cool days we had in a year on one hand. I had a habit of putting a thermometer in the package area of my truck – it was regularly 115 to 120 degrees. 

In my 33 years driving for the company, I had a handful of heat-related incidents. I would feel light-headed, my vision would blur, I’d experience extreme gastrointestinal stress or debilitating leg cramps. In some cases, I’d call into a supervisor to report my symptoms. The reaction was usually the same: “Slow down, do the best you can.” But they didn’t offer to pull me off the road. 

In a 33-year career, a lot can happen. But there is one incident that I think about to this day: 

I was going through the normal workday and it came time to take my lunch break. I almost always stopped in the same spot, a shaded, secluded area where I could open all the doors and try to cool off my truck. 

As I sat down to eat my lunch on the back of my truck, I quickly realized something was wrong. I wasn’t hungry and I was seeing stars. The next thing I remember is opening my eyes to find that I was on the pavement. What the hell was I doing on the ground? 

I knew I had a thermos of ice water in the front of the truck, so I got into the passenger side, and started to pour ice water on my face. I fainted again, this time falling from the passenger seat of the truck to the pavement. 

When I came to, I secured my vehicle and walked into a local business to cool off. I called my wife, Laurie, and my supervisor, who both came to meet me. Maybe it was the heat delirium, but I thought I could finish my route. Thankfully, they had the good sense to keep me off the road. My supervisor said he’d just tell the manager I went home sick. 

I took the following day off and went to see my doctor. Her first words to me were, “Why didn’t you go to the emergency room?” My kidneys were not functioning at a normal level, and we had to monitor them over the next few weeks. 

Looking back, I think I’m lucky that this incident wasn’t worse. I was in danger, but if I would have gotten behind the wheel of that truck, I would have also put every other driver on the road or child walking through the neighborhood in danger, too. 

You can’t leave a dog outside in the dog house if it’s too hot, but UPS continues to leave these guys in trucks that are 150 degrees. Yes, UPS pays well and the benefits are better than what most expect. But none of that matters much when people’s lives are on the line."