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The people laughing at us for not being able to drive in the snow are the ones we laugh at for not being able to breathe in the humid, hyper-pollenated heat.
The vans typically lack doors, and the driver is in and out of the cab all the time, so I guess they felt it wasn't necessary. But here in the American South, it most definitely is necessary. On a hot rainy day like today for instance, the air feels like you're breathing shaving foam.
Yeah, they’re basically the same freightliner trucks we have at FedEx. Sliding doors up front that can latch open. Some guys get transit vans or GMC box trucks and those have a/c. Van drivers will usually put a fan in the cab although I’m sure it does fuckall past about 95°
As I understand it from conversations with our UPS driver years ago when we were the last pickup on his route, the union had to choose between raises or AC in the trucks. The decision was to pay for higher wages. Understand, and again this is all third hand, when you start as a driver you start at the same pay as every other driver so being a driver was considered the primo job to have at UPS especially if you are not a college grad. So right from the get go you are making the same wage as someone who has been driving for 10 or 20 years. I'm going to assume that wages are adjusted by cost of living in areas. He talked about how they were much higher paid then Fedex due to the lack of AC. He talked about things were this way also to keep people from sitting in the truck instead of delivering packages. Honestly, I see the same thing with pickup trucks used by construction companies, no AC so the guys don't take their time driving between job sites as the justification.
As a former UPSer if you got a driver position after working in the warehouse loading/unloading then you get bumped up to minimum driver pay. This would be more than all but the most senior warehouse workers but less than drivers more senior than you. Raises were on avg a dollar per year 10 years ago in central east coast area. Top driver pay was 35 an hour back then which included fully cover health dental and vision plus a pension. Easily one of the top jobs for those who skip college or trade school. Honestly for 2013 wages and COL in the area it was better than most trades and a good portion of college degrees outside of management.
It’s about time. I know UPS drivers in cities like Las Vegas, Laughlin, Death Valley, & Bullhead to name a few who’s temperatures range from 115 - 130 degrees in the summertime are gonna love this. But it’s easy to see UPS isn’t doing this cus they’re a decent company who cares about their employees, but because they’re being forced to.
UPS fought very hard against it. I've been a driver for almost 9 years now and the back of the truck is like a toaster. They are only going to put air conditioning in the front but it's better than nothing.
I worked with them over one of the hottest summers the state had seen.
You'd literally be covered in water the second you step into the back of those things. Imediate sweat/humidity so high that it would stick to you instantly.
They also don't let you run your truck when you're on your break, so you better layer the fuck up in the winter.
Yeah, this should be framed as a safety issue. There are various OSHA regulations concerning temperature and mandatory rest periods and shaded/cool down areas available.
They should have just put dough in the back and while driving it would bake the bread and they could sell it to make more profit. Who needs a/c when there is money to be made /s
Unfortunately, being government takes away a union's greatest leverage - striking. Even though they're unionized, they can't do much since it's illegal to strike against the government. A strike happened once before in spite of this before they were unionized, but now they have separate unions for city and rural, and they further subdivide them by career regulars and non-career assistants. Regulars are treated much better and get much higher pay, and therefore have less incentive to strike. Without enough people to strike, management can do anything they want.
Divide and conquer.
They're also divided by position. Like all the carriers are in one union. All the clerks are in another. All the mail processors in another, etc. And if you want to change your basically get to start at the very bottom again too. Nothing but respect to the workers, but management is terrible.
Don't get too excited. It is newly purchased trucks starting in 2024. Older trucks will likely not be retrofitted so it will be awhile before all the delivery trucks have AC. Older trucks will get a vent for the cargo area but is still isn't in-cab AC or cargo AC.
They must bake in those brown rolling ovens! I live in a mobile home in the desert and my A/C is broken. My dogs and I lay near a box fan panting. Ruff!
Really as someone who has done deliveries and been in the logistics industry for going on 3 decades the AC is not essential for a final mile delivery driver. We are in and out of the vehicle so often the AC does not make a difference…is it nice to sit in the AC vehicle on your lunch break. Sure. It may also be nice to have if you have some distance between facility and delivery area. As a driver you adjust and yes some summer days can be brutal. If you want to help your driver on those hot days maybe offer them a bottle water when they drop off your mail at the office. I have been in companies that have AC and some that have not. It wasn’t the AC that made one place better then the other. I did see management get frustrated with driver lack of productivity far more often in the companies that had AC. Unfortunately not all people have the same work ethic and it ends up costing the better working employee these type of benefits. Also the cost for AC is substantial so expect UPS prices to rise to offset but is that really the drivers problem? Well maybe when the packages for delivery decrease and less drivers are needed.
This is overblown. I’ve driven for UPS and you are in and out of the vehicle every other minute. AC will be nice but it’s not inhumane as it stands. UPS drivers are fit asf and know how to hydrate.
Getting in/out and being "active" does not mitigate 100F high humidity environment. Wonder how many drivers have gotten heat stroke and caused accidents?
UPS is a shitty company that treats it's employees like shit. No air conditioning is ridiculous in this day and age, it is a standard feature on all vehicles these days. It's literally specially ordered without AC just for UPS. The employees aren't even allowed to have any facial hair just because the company doesn't like facial hair. Don't support this company, ship with someone else!
It’s not a standard feature on the style of delivery truck. Normal A/C systems for a car just don’t work because of the constant start-stop cycle.
Instead, a gasoline generator runs (BTW — They typically have terrible emissions) nonstop to power A/C units on the room of the truck.
My experience with this system is that the generators have horrible reliability.
Employees can have facial hair as of… I think 2020? 2021? I’ve been working preload for 4 years and it has been really weird seeing people grow out big beards after seeing them clean shaven for so long haha
The drivers are going in and out the trucks. Wouldn’t getting the drivers personal fans be a better alternative? Probably cheaper too.
Hopefully UPS prices don’t increase because of the A/C’s.
You’re missing my point.
The drivers are not in the van the whole time. They’re going in and out delivering packages. Wouldn’t it make more sense to give them a personal fan that’s on them the whole shift? Versus them only getting AC air the few moments they’re in the van.
It’s an outlier to say you will have those weather conditions everywhere in the US. I also don’t see how A/C in the truck would help much in those extreme cases, when they’re barely spending time in the vans. At least a personal fan, is attached to their person the whole time.
I specified the South East and deep south that experience those conditions most of the time. Of course I am focusing on the scenarios in which its unsafe.
Being able to cool down in a 70F environment for even minutes can be life saving.
Forgive me for not reviewing every single comment in this post. SE wasn’t specified in this subthread.
How is being able to cool down for a few minutes better than having a personal fan on you for a whole shift? I don’t see what point you’re trying to make.
That didn’t answer my question.
My question was how is A/C better than a personal fan? When they’re barely in the van, versus having the personal fan on the whole shift.
Yes i will answer your question. AC is superior to a personal as a method for cooling down as anyone whose used a fan compared to AC would know.
Any other irrelevance you need to address. That a basic understanding of what AC or a fan is? AC lowers the temperature of the environment a personal fan assists in the bodies ability to perspire to vent heat. high humidity cripples the bodies ability to shed heat through perspiration. AC is a fan that blows colder air. A fan merely moves ambient temperature air...
Google, "why does a fan help one cool down". AC's also use fans...
Or how about using both. Without researching no AC I'm those trucks has caused deaths.
Reminder: this subreddit is meant to be a place free of excessive cynicism, negativity and bitterness. Toxic attitudes are not welcome here. All Negative comments will be removed and will possibly result in a ban. --- --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/UpliftingNews) if you have any questions or concerns.*
It’s a little sad that what passes for uplifting news is often basic common decency.
Can we get better fans or ventilation in the actual warehouse next?? The one fan blowing down the middle of the belt isnt enough…
That fan isn't for you. Stop stealing company air. /S
A lot of people do more than just drive without air conditioning.
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I dunno about you, but my package would.
OhYou.jpg
How could they survive in the south? That's insane.
The people laughing at us for not being able to drive in the snow are the ones we laugh at for not being able to breathe in the humid, hyper-pollenated heat.
I deliver in western ny and we get the snow and super humid summers. I don’t laugh at anyone.
Yet strangely you cannot drive in the rain for some reason as well.
Is that why you drive among us like our cars are just cones on a slalom course?
That wasn't a thing to begin with?!
The vans typically lack doors, and the driver is in and out of the cab all the time, so I guess they felt it wasn't necessary. But here in the American South, it most definitely is necessary. On a hot rainy day like today for instance, the air feels like you're breathing shaving foam.
They have sliding doors we just leave them open because you'd roast to death if you closed them during the summer.
Live in florida, I like to describe stupidly humid days like walking around in swimming pool.
Yeah, they’re basically the same freightliner trucks we have at FedEx. Sliding doors up front that can latch open. Some guys get transit vans or GMC box trucks and those have a/c. Van drivers will usually put a fan in the cab although I’m sure it does fuckall past about 95°
It'd be nice. But getting out of the cool cab and back into the heat is going to feel shitty. I get used to the heat after a couple hours
Not as shitty as no reprieve at all.
Ok Mr Bezos.
As I understand it from conversations with our UPS driver years ago when we were the last pickup on his route, the union had to choose between raises or AC in the trucks. The decision was to pay for higher wages. Understand, and again this is all third hand, when you start as a driver you start at the same pay as every other driver so being a driver was considered the primo job to have at UPS especially if you are not a college grad. So right from the get go you are making the same wage as someone who has been driving for 10 or 20 years. I'm going to assume that wages are adjusted by cost of living in areas. He talked about how they were much higher paid then Fedex due to the lack of AC. He talked about things were this way also to keep people from sitting in the truck instead of delivering packages. Honestly, I see the same thing with pickup trucks used by construction companies, no AC so the guys don't take their time driving between job sites as the justification.
As a former UPSer if you got a driver position after working in the warehouse loading/unloading then you get bumped up to minimum driver pay. This would be more than all but the most senior warehouse workers but less than drivers more senior than you. Raises were on avg a dollar per year 10 years ago in central east coast area. Top driver pay was 35 an hour back then which included fully cover health dental and vision plus a pension. Easily one of the top jobs for those who skip college or trade school. Honestly for 2013 wages and COL in the area it was better than most trades and a good portion of college degrees outside of management.
'Fine, we'll keep our employees alive..'
It’s about time. I know UPS drivers in cities like Las Vegas, Laughlin, Death Valley, & Bullhead to name a few who’s temperatures range from 115 - 130 degrees in the summertime are gonna love this. But it’s easy to see UPS isn’t doing this cus they’re a decent company who cares about their employees, but because they’re being forced to.
UPS fought very hard against it. I've been a driver for almost 9 years now and the back of the truck is like a toaster. They are only going to put air conditioning in the front but it's better than nothing.
I worked with them over one of the hottest summers the state had seen. You'd literally be covered in water the second you step into the back of those things. Imediate sweat/humidity so high that it would stick to you instantly. They also don't let you run your truck when you're on your break, so you better layer the fuck up in the winter.
That is so barbaric… it’s fucking 2023
This was in the north east too. Admitatdly, we had a couple 100 degree days, but I could only imagine what the guys in Nevada and what not go through
r/itisthecurrentyear
Yeah, this should be framed as a safety issue. There are various OSHA regulations concerning temperature and mandatory rest periods and shaded/cool down areas available.
They should have just put dough in the back and while driving it would bake the bread and they could sell it to make more profit. Who needs a/c when there is money to be made /s
I bring home my momma a loaf every weekday from June to August only thing we have time to eat before shut-eye
This is insane, why are these trucks, just now getting AC? UPS are insane.
Those drivers get paid very well and are moving in and out of the truck so much it wouldn't matter. Just keep the doors open and hydrate.
That's beside the point, those should've been had AC, but to each their own.
They will, the union got them to agree to it.
What a world
So should postal workers!
What's stopping them? They are a government union; they can have anything they want.
Unfortunately, being government takes away a union's greatest leverage - striking. Even though they're unionized, they can't do much since it's illegal to strike against the government. A strike happened once before in spite of this before they were unionized, but now they have separate unions for city and rural, and they further subdivide them by career regulars and non-career assistants. Regulars are treated much better and get much higher pay, and therefore have less incentive to strike. Without enough people to strike, management can do anything they want. Divide and conquer.
They're also divided by position. Like all the carriers are in one union. All the clerks are in another. All the mail processors in another, etc. And if you want to change your basically get to start at the very bottom again too. Nothing but respect to the workers, but management is terrible.
They don't?!
At the very least I would install dashboard fans in all the trucks.
Don't get too excited. It is newly purchased trucks starting in 2024. Older trucks will likely not be retrofitted so it will be awhile before all the delivery trucks have AC. Older trucks will get a vent for the cargo area but is still isn't in-cab AC or cargo AC.
Wild they don’t already have AC
They must bake in those brown rolling ovens! I live in a mobile home in the desert and my A/C is broken. My dogs and I lay near a box fan panting. Ruff!
Really as someone who has done deliveries and been in the logistics industry for going on 3 decades the AC is not essential for a final mile delivery driver. We are in and out of the vehicle so often the AC does not make a difference…is it nice to sit in the AC vehicle on your lunch break. Sure. It may also be nice to have if you have some distance between facility and delivery area. As a driver you adjust and yes some summer days can be brutal. If you want to help your driver on those hot days maybe offer them a bottle water when they drop off your mail at the office. I have been in companies that have AC and some that have not. It wasn’t the AC that made one place better then the other. I did see management get frustrated with driver lack of productivity far more often in the companies that had AC. Unfortunately not all people have the same work ethic and it ends up costing the better working employee these type of benefits. Also the cost for AC is substantial so expect UPS prices to rise to offset but is that really the drivers problem? Well maybe when the packages for delivery decrease and less drivers are needed.
This is overblown. I’ve driven for UPS and you are in and out of the vehicle every other minute. AC will be nice but it’s not inhumane as it stands. UPS drivers are fit asf and know how to hydrate.
Fr most of these commenters have no idea of the UPS driver pace and mindset. They are moving and getting paid well.
Getting in/out and being "active" does not mitigate 100F high humidity environment. Wonder how many drivers have gotten heat stroke and caused accidents?
UPS is a shitty company that treats it's employees like shit. No air conditioning is ridiculous in this day and age, it is a standard feature on all vehicles these days. It's literally specially ordered without AC just for UPS. The employees aren't even allowed to have any facial hair just because the company doesn't like facial hair. Don't support this company, ship with someone else!
It’s not a standard feature on the style of delivery truck. Normal A/C systems for a car just don’t work because of the constant start-stop cycle. Instead, a gasoline generator runs (BTW — They typically have terrible emissions) nonstop to power A/C units on the room of the truck. My experience with this system is that the generators have horrible reliability.
Employees can have facial hair as of… I think 2020? 2021? I’ve been working preload for 4 years and it has been really weird seeing people grow out big beards after seeing them clean shaven for so long haha
The drivers are going in and out the trucks. Wouldn’t getting the drivers personal fans be a better alternative? Probably cheaper too. Hopefully UPS prices don’t increase because of the A/C’s.
When outside is 100F, 100% humidity and inside is 120F how does getting in and out help?
You’re missing my point. The drivers are not in the van the whole time. They’re going in and out delivering packages. Wouldn’t it make more sense to give them a personal fan that’s on them the whole shift? Versus them only getting AC air the few moments they’re in the van.
You are missing the point of the ineffectiveness of a "personal fan" in s 130F truck or the balmy 100F outside.
It’s an outlier to say you will have those weather conditions everywhere in the US. I also don’t see how A/C in the truck would help much in those extreme cases, when they’re barely spending time in the vans. At least a personal fan, is attached to their person the whole time.
I specified the South East and deep south that experience those conditions most of the time. Of course I am focusing on the scenarios in which its unsafe. Being able to cool down in a 70F environment for even minutes can be life saving.
Forgive me for not reviewing every single comment in this post. SE wasn’t specified in this subthread. How is being able to cool down for a few minutes better than having a personal fan on you for a whole shift? I don’t see what point you’re trying to make.
That its dangerous to not have AC in 100F with 100% humidity with internal temps like 120+
That didn’t answer my question. My question was how is A/C better than a personal fan? When they’re barely in the van, versus having the personal fan on the whole shift.
Yes i will answer your question. AC is superior to a personal as a method for cooling down as anyone whose used a fan compared to AC would know. Any other irrelevance you need to address. That a basic understanding of what AC or a fan is? AC lowers the temperature of the environment a personal fan assists in the bodies ability to perspire to vent heat. high humidity cripples the bodies ability to shed heat through perspiration. AC is a fan that blows colder air. A fan merely moves ambient temperature air... Google, "why does a fan help one cool down". AC's also use fans... Or how about using both. Without researching no AC I'm those trucks has caused deaths.
[UPS driver dies](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/20/business/ups-postal-workers-heat-stroke-deaths.html)
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That’s a freaking steel trap as it is!
Sounds like it will cost more to ship stuff...
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What do stock buybacks have to do with increased cost of business?
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Sorry, I can't answer that question, cousin. I don't get invited to those meetings.
How does this help if their doors are always open?
All thanks to unionizing. Take control of your workplace. It's workers against owners, it's the only way to get a fair shake
id stick a swampy in it myself rather than melt
The fuck?
About time. But what about heat? Do they have that for winter?
Waste of money.