Yves here. Those dark delivery trucks are already bake ovens. And in a place like New York City, the buildings and pavement also radiate heat. The article describes heat-induced driver hospitalizations and even a death. How long will this continue before UPS and Fedex and Amazon are forced to change? It won’t come voluntarily. Workplace conditions have been at the bottom of their list of priorities.
By Claudia Irizarry Aponte and Samantha Maldonado. Originally published at THE CITY on July 27, 2022
UPS workers are turning up the heat on their employer after their union said at least six package delivery drivers in the New York City region experienced heat-related illness on the job during last week’s heat wave.
Chris Cappadonna, 26, says he sought emergency care for heat exhaustion an hour into his shift Thursday morning in Brooklyn. With outside temperatures nearing 100 degrees, he started experiencing difficulty breathing and cramped hands, he told THE CITY.
He said he was moving heavy furniture in Mill Basin and was “about to pass out” when two city sanitation workers, who apparently noticed he was struggling, stopped him and came to his aid.
They let Cappadonna sit in their air-conditioned truck to cool off, and he later went to an urgent care and then the emergency room at Mount Sinai Kings Highway, he said.
