‘Sending drivers out to die’: UPS workers demand heat safety amid record temps
Union representatives around the country say they’re worried about the number of UPS workers who have needed medical treatment for heat illness this summer.
United Parcel Service (UPS) driver Joe Speeler makes a delivery at the Leanon Shops in Mount Lebanon, Pa., on Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021. United Parcel Service Inc. on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021, reported third-quarter profit of $2.33 billion.(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) (Gene J. Puskar, Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
Matthew Moczygemba knew something was wrong when he lost his thirst. It was midafternoon on a 103-degree day in Fort Worth, Texas, and the UPS driver had been delivering packages for several hours. Soon he felt dizzy, then he pulled his truck over and vomited onto the curb.
“I stopped sweating and was starting to get cold,” said Moczygemba, 35, who has worked for UPS for five years. “It was a bad feeling.”
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Moczygemba wound up at a hospital emergency room, where doctors diagnosed him with dehydration and heat exhaustion, and gave him several bags of IV fluid, according to medical records.
