Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, LABOR NEWS—UPS will expedite provision of air-conditioned vehicles to hottest states under agreement with Teamsters, (Oct 21, 2025)

By Brandi O. Brown, J.D.

Two thousand package cars will be retrofitted with A/C by June 1, 2026, with the total to reach 5,000 by June 1, 2027.

The Teamsters announced this week that United Parcel Service (UPS), in order to help expedite delivery of 28,000 air-conditioned vehicles under the current national contract, has signed a new letter of agreement to begin retrofitting 5,000 package cars with air conditioning for the hottest delivery zone in the country. That zone includes Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington.

“The Teamsters Union appreciates UPS’s recognition that our members in Zone 1 need real relief from the heat, and they need it now,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien.

The 5,000 package cars will be retrofitted with air conditioning by June 1, 2027. The first 2,000 vehicles readied under the agreement will be retrofitted by June 1, 2026.

Pilot program. The agreement also designates that 100 package cars will be upgraded with air conditioning vented into the cargo compartment under a new pilot program to evaluate strategies for greater heat relief.

“Since our union ratified the National Master Agreement, the Teamsters heat committee has been working with UPS to study the best ways to retrofit vehicles for better ventilation. We are eager to start testing A/C in the cargo compartment, inarguably the hottest part of the package cars,” said Karla Schumann, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 104 in Phoenix, Ariz., and Chair of the Package Car Heat Committee.

UPS says it goes “above and beyond.” Of the agreement, UPS states: [W]e’re proud to announce we are installing air conditioning in 5,000 of our existing delivery vehicles in the hottest regions across the country and testing air conditioning in the cargo area of our package cars. This investment is above and beyond the commitment we’ve made to include air conditioning in all newly purchased vehicles.”

It also notes that it has been other efforts to prioritize heat safety for its employees. For example, before the summer season this year, it notes that it had installed nearly 19,000 additional fans. Also, in 2024 it supplied over 10 million pounds of ice to its facilities to help keep employees cool during the summer.

News: LaborNews Labor Safety