Teamsters at Commerce City UPS hub demand heat safety improvements amid record temperatures
Commerce City, CO – On Friday, August 2, a group of Teamsters at the UPS facility in Commerce City, part of the Denver metro area, confronted management to demand immediate action to address the excessive heat inside the building.
Many of these workers are part of the Shop Floor Educators, a group founded earlier this year to educate employees about their legal and contractual rights. They marched to managements’ offices to present a petition with over 800 signatures, calling for measures to address unsafe working conditions caused by high temperatures.
The petition demands the installation of more fans throughout the building to ensure proper ventilation, as well as air conditioning in break rooms during the summer months to provide workers with a space to cool down if they begin to suffer from symptoms of heat-related illness.
This year, 2024, is on track to be the hottest year on record, and stickers with the slogan “Cool zones now!” are visible throughout the Commerce City building, reflecting the urgency and popularity of the demands.
“These unsafe working temperatures are getting worse year after year, and management's ‘just keep drinking water’ advice is not adequate,” said Audrey Pandolfi, a rank-and-file Teamster who participated in the march.
Every year, UPS workers across the country suffer from heat exhaustion, with some incidents resulting in death. The concrete and metal UPS distribution facilities often trap heat inside due to poor ventilation, putting the workers who load trucks and sort and process packages at constant risk of overheating and becoming sick while on the job.
“At UPS, deaths happen every single year due to how hot it becomes,” said Keegan Estrella, a part-time UPS worker and Teamsters representative on the Safety Committee at Commerce City. “We're not asking for the world right now; we're asking for heat safety.”
The demonstration was seen as a success by participants. The UPS preload manager said he would discuss the workers' demands with the human resources department and address them at the upcoming monthly Safety Committee meeting.
Anthony Cole, a rank-and-file Teamster who played a key role in gathering petition signatures, underscored the power of collective action, stating, “Showing solidarity matters. Solidarity always makes the company scared. Solidarity lets other members know that there are those who are fighting. This may inspire other members to do the same – to join the fight or fight a little harder. And with more members comes more power. Change needs workers to come together. These actions let everybody know that, together, workers can make change for the better.”
The next monthly Safety Committee meeting will be in the coming week, and several workers have stated they will be there to show support for the demands.