A major complaint among UPS drivers appears on the verge of being rectified.
UPS announced it has reached an agreement with the Teamsters Union to address heat safety.
Part of the agreement includes equipping all newly purchased small package delivery vehicles with air conditioning starting in 2024.
"Where possible, new vehicles will be allocated to the hottest parts of the country first," UPS said in a statement.
This is considered a big win for UPS drivers. A change.org petition started in 2018 has over one million signatures urging UPS to install air conditioning in delivery trucks.
"You're in an oven; you're in a straight-up oven and there's no air conditioning whatsoever," said Colin Morgan, a Valley UPS driver.
Morgan spoke out for the very first time since a Ring doorbell video of him collapsing on the job made national headlines last summer.
"I was in the truck too long and I just had, already had packages all over the place... and was in there for about 20 minutes or so until I finally walked out, walked towards the door and the cool air just hit me," said Morgan.
SEE MORE: Teamsters reach compromise with UPS on 2 key issues as strike looms
ABC15 spoke with Nate Jonovich last summer, along with others anonymously, who were in fear of retaliation at the time. We also investigated cases of hospitalizations due to heat exhaustion.
"My wife is concerned every summertime, you know. If I'm, if I'm gonna make it through the summer, you know. She's worried about like... 'if you ever feel sick, just call 911. We can't afford to lose you,'" said Jonovich.
UPS said it has also agreed to other measures to help keep drivers in non-air-conditioned trucks cool. The shipping company said it will install additional cab fans in vehicles without air conditioning. Exhaust heat shields and a new intake system that brings in fresh air from the outside will also be retrofitted into existing vehicles.
UPS is up against a deadline to ratify its contract with the Teamsters. The current contract expires July 31.
The Teamsters are organizing ahead of the deadline. They are encouraging members to vote to authorize a strike if UPS doesn't agree to certain demands, one of which was the heat safety standards.
“We are here to protect more than 340,000 UPS Teamsters and get the best contract in the history of our union with this company," the Teamsters said after negotiating the heat safety agreement.
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