Reality Check 027

Garfield discusses the heat-related dangers faced by drivers in their center. OSHA issued a citation to the center for a driver's death and other injuries, but the amount is not enough to console the widow. Garfield highlights the need for acclimatization guidance and management monitoring of weather reports. He also mentions the lack of air conditioning in trucks and the importance of management checking on employees at risk of heat-related illnesses. Garfield emphasizes the need for immediate medical treatment and encourages drivers to call 911 if necessary. He stresses the need for self-protection and mentions instances of guns being pulled on drivers. Management's lack of care is noted, and Garfield urges drivers to prioritize their own safety. Teamster Power 767 Reality Check with Jeff Schoenfeld and Garfield Hooper. Everyone's doing well today and we're going to get right into it. So, Garfield, do you have a couple of things you want to say? The heat's coming back. We're barely out of February and it's going to be 90 degrees on Monday here in North Texas. And some of you guys will remember one of the first podcasts we did was in relation to one of my fellow drivers in our center dying as a result of the heat. The company's not going to say that. And, you know, but this week, OSHA delivered a citation to our center for his death and several other injuries in our center. For the total was $88,000, which is not much for one of our lives and especially not his life. It doesn't do much to console his widow. But I'm hoping that maybe this citation will help her case when she, you know, since she's trying to sue the company. There are a few bullet points that this citation posted that I wanted to read for everybody, because, like, this is not just going to affect us. I mean, if you're in the southern region, chances are you're going to have some hot days, you know. But a few of the bullet points on this citation was enforce the acclimatization guidance to existing employees returning from the absence so that protective measures are implemented. A lot of people don't know that the contract protects you if you come back from a long injury and allows the company to, like, stair-step you up over the course of a week, getting you back up to full ability. And a lot of people don't know this, but the company definitely doesn't utilize it. You know, I've had to force the company recently to, like, hey, you know, contractually you have to give these guys, like, an easy day the first few days back and kind of stair-step them to their full capability. It's only a week, which isn't much, but it's better than nothing. A lot of people will come back and they'll throw them on a route with 150, 200 stops, just like their first – just like, you know, it's any other day. And then the company will be really shocked when they, you know, get injured again, like, within a week. It's like, yeah, because you didn't give them a chance to acclimatize themselves back to doing this job. Number two was enforce management monitoring of daily weather reports for high heat index advisories. Heat waves are increasing temperatures so that protective measures are implemented. This is another one of those things that they added in this contract, saying the company has to monitor local weather. I mean, sure, the company has to do it, but it doesn't say they have to do anything about it. That's just another reason why, you know, we wish things had been taken a little bit further in this contract. Yeah, and just to that, you know, it's maybe two extra 15-minute breaks during the day. I mean, something, anything would have – you know, anything would have helped. And let me ask you a question. Have you seen any ACs in the trucks yet? I thought not. I thought not. I thought we were supposed to get it in January, but, you know, I mean, that's – and I know there are new trucks going to certain buildings, and they – I've gotten calls, and there's no AC in these trucks. Yeah, it's – you know, I've had – I'm on my 18th year, I believe, 17th, 18th year, and I'd honestly be surprised if I see something with AC in it before I retire. But we'll see. Number three was enforce management, continuous monitoring, and communication with employees throughout the day who are at risk of heat-related illness, such as employees who have had previous heat illnesses and employees who report they are feeling ill. So that, you know, the company needs to be checking on you. If you've had previous heat-related illnesses, you know, and they're worried about you or they should be worried about you, they don't – because anyone that's had this happen to them in the past is more susceptible to it in the future. So you – the company needs to keep in touch to make sure you're okay and you're not just laying out there passed out in the back of a truck somewhere. Because I've – I mean, I'm sure many of you have heard horror stories of customers calling wellness checks on drivers and the, you know, police officer would get there and the guy would be passed out in the back of the truck or something like that. And, like, that kind of stuff doesn't need to be happening. So just keep that in mind that if you're one of these people that is more prone to this, management should be checking on you. Oh, absolutely. And a good question. Is that committee set up that was supposed to – you know, that's in the contract to, you know, regarding the heat and whatnot and persons designated to call 911. Was that ever set up in your building? If it has, it'd be news to me. Okay. So it hasn't. Okay. Yeah. Number four, enforce the requirement that management take immediate and appropriate steps necessary to provide emergency medical treatment to employees who are experiencing heat-related emergency situations or other medical illnesses. So if you're having – and this isn't just for heat. Like, it says heat in there, but it also says other serious medical illnesses. And we got an email about something very similar to this and that came in to us, what, about a week ago, week, two weeks ago? Yes. A driver was having a serious medical issue in his center, and he called his supervisor and said, hey, you know, I'm having this issue. Like, I can't – like, I can't keep going. I'm done. And – They ignored him. They ignored him. Yeah. Until 6.30. Yeah. Until 6. This was – this phone call was made at 2 p.m. to his supervisors, and they sent him help at 6.30. And when a driver arrived to help this guy out, he was laying in the back of his truck in extreme pain. And they ended up calling – did they end up calling an ambulance? I think they called 911. Yeah. I think they called 911 to get him off the truck. Yeah. But, you know, after the fact, you know, after a couple of hours and – so the thing here is I know we've said this, and we're going to say this again. We're going to say it as many times as we need to, okay? At that point, you know you're even getting close to that point. I mean, if you feel like you want to call management, but it's – the phone call goes like this, hey, listen, I'm having issues. You know, I need someone to, you know, to relieve me. It's not like we're going to get someone out there right now. And if they don't answer, you call 911 right away. Yes. If you give them the opportunity and they don't, you know, they don't say anything and nothing happens real quick, then you call 911. And, again, it's, you know, your discretion. If they're not answering, if they're – if you think they're taking their time, then just, you know, go right to 911. I mean, you have to. We understand that certain things should be in place, but, you know, when this happens, you need to protect yourself. And the reason why you might have waited, you know, I think, you know, management kind of makes you scared. Oh, you can't file this. No, your life is worth more than that. You call 911. They're not going to fire you for calling 911, okay? They're not. And you do it when you need to, you know, whatever the case may be. And, you know, I mean, does management care? No. Look at a file for OSHA just for something to happen. And the response from OSHA was things that the company should have been doing anyway. It's true. So, I mean, it's just – it's crazy. And we need to, you know, with the heat coming up, and this is why we're discussing it now, I mean, it's early. There could be some warm days. But, hey, it's never, you know, it's never too early. We're going to talk about this a lot, you know. We're going to keep talking about this a lot. And we don't want anyone else, you know, passing out or ultimately we don't want anyone else passing away. No, absolutely not. And it's not even just, you know, passing away. It's not even getting hurt. Like, you know, this can cause permanent damage to you. You may live, but, like, you may never be able to do this job again. It will affect you for the rest of your life. You know, we've had, you know, drivers get – have permanent, you know, kidney damage, permanent health issues from stuff like this. And nothing in that truck – nothing in that truck is worth your physical well-being. And, you know, this kind of goes along with, you know, other things, you know, people will call. And I'm sure you've all heard stories of people calling 911 on somebody following them. And it ended up being management. You know, I had something like that happen a couple of years ago. And the manager goes, you don't ever call 911. You call us first. And I told the manager, I was like, no. I was like, if he feels like he's at risk, he's going to call – he's going to call the police first. And it goes the same thing with this. If you feel like you're in distress, that you can't finish or whatever, and you feel like this is affecting your day, your first call needs to be to 911. Your second call is to management. And that's just to let them know where they can pick up the damn truck. Well, yeah, that's exactly it. And I'm going to say this. In the Dallas hub that I'm in, there were at least two people – there might have been three that I know of that had guns pulled on them, okay? That's not cool. That's not – that's unsafe. And that's where, you know what I'm saying, you need to protect yourself and do what you have to do. Management is not going to save you, okay? Calling 911 is the only route you should go on that, I mean, if you really feel it. And, you know, it's just have to protect yourself, whether it's the heat, whether it's, you know, someone following you. It's important. And management should care more. Management should care more. And, you know, but they're not going to. You have to care about, you know, yourself. So, you know, this is why we bring this stuff up, and it's so important. And we're going to be talking about a lot of this, and I'm sure more stories are going to come up. And when they do come up, we're going to talk about them. Yep. And we're going to hopefully get, you know, change the way people think. And we just want them to protect themselves. It's not to be, oh, look, I called 911. It's to protect themselves. Yes. So. Yes. And if you do go out on injury, you know, that is a – that's an on-the-job injury. That's work that's calm. You know, don't worry about it. Yes. You're not going to use your option days and your vacation days at that point. You need to be worried about getting better. You know, that's a problem for Liberty Mutual at that point. No, that's not a problem for you to concern yourself with. You know, you and your family are not going to make any money if you're dead. Take care of yourself first. The other problems can be managed. Absolutely. Absolutely. You know, it's – yeah. I got two more bullet points I want to hit on this. Sure. And these are arguably the most important. Number five, enforce policy that ensures that employees experiencing a single – a serious medical emergency receive the appropriate first aid or emergency medical treatment despite the employee's refusal. Now, some people are going to think, oh, well, that could be a problem. No. If you're in that state, you need to go to the hospital, period. And it's probably going to be a – you know, somebody may come in and think, oh, well, I know my body. You know, the driver that passed away last year, you know, he made it clear that he didn't want to go to the hospital. We made it clear that, you know, as drivers, it's like if you're in that state, you're not in the right state of mind to make that call. You know, he all but passed out on the floor of a business, and they had to come and pick him up because he couldn't drive the truck back. If you can't drive the truck, then you need to go to a hospital. And, yeah, it's – and then, you know, we'll post some things about, you know, the signs. And I usually post things everywhere, you know, about the heat, what to look for, you know, just, you know, if you're not sweating, that's a huge problem. But we'll be putting stuff out, and we do it every year, all the time, you know, year round, and it's, you know, and we do it again. So it's – you need to know your body. You know, you need to know the signs, you know, especially, you know, as in relation to the heat. What was the last one? The last one is honestly, I think, one of the best, and I'd love to get this printed up and put on a T-shirt. Okay. Minimize the time employees spend in the cargo area looking for packages by enforcing the company's preload guidelines. And I'm sure everybody has the same issue. Like, nobody's perfect. They're going to have shit loads from time to time. But sometimes – but, you know, when you walk in there and be like, well, the person that loaded this truck just really didn't give a shit. And if they've got a – obviously, my building has four belts. There's a full-time supervisor for every belt and two part-time supervisors for every belt. You can't tell me that they can't walk those belts and look in those trucks and tell if they're loaded properly. And if they can't, they shouldn't be doing the job. And to that extent, I think a lot of times what happens also is, you know, you may get other people on the box line, you know, whether it's drivers or whatnot or anybody, you know, who, you know, they're doing, you know, and they shouldn't be on their – Well, we've discussed that. Yeah, we've discussed that. And that could be – I'm not saying it is, but that could be, you know, adding to the problem also, okay? So if it's – no, it's a couple of things at play here. And we just, you know, the – sometimes the preloader might get it all, you know, to take the hit for it, but it could be other factors also, supervisors touching packages and whatnot. So, you know, a couple of things, and, you know, it's just, yes, spending time in the back of the truck, I mean, we know that causes – I mean, we know that's an issue. Yeah, 100%. But, you know, guess what? If they put in more trucks and didn't put as many packages on the trucks, guess what? You wouldn't have to be in the back of the truck as much. That's true. So that's another thing. But that's, you know, that's something we'll talk about again. But is there anything else regarding this you'd like to say? I mean, just that I would like to reiterate the point that, you know, we do this to inform people. You know, we do this to make sure that people have the information they need. And, you know, not everybody is going to listen to our podcast, but if we give somebody the confidence to be able to call and say, no, I feel bad, I need to come off this truck, that maybe that they can give that to somebody else that doesn't listen and they can save a life. That's what this is about. You know, we don't want – That's where it comes down to. We don't want people to die. We don't want people to get hurt. And we know the heat is going to continue to be an issue. Every year it's hotter than the previous one. So, you know, it's not going to get any easier for us, and they're not going to be in any hurry to put air conditioning in these trucks. No, no. So we have to look out for each other, and you have to look out for yourself. So, all right, from myself and Garfield, I think this is an extremely important, you know, episode. And, you know, I want everyone to listen to this. And if they have to listen to it twice or three times, it's important. And you can tell other people, please, please, please. All right? So, myself and Garfield, everyone have a good week. We all deal with national language. But on this podcast, when it comes to supplemental language, we deal mostly with the southern region. And as always, it's best to get advice from your local stewards or business agents. If you would like to reach out to us with any questions, we have an email address, 767realitycheck at gmail.com. That's 767realitycheck at gmail.com. And remember, strong people stand up for themselves, but the strongest people stand up for others.