An Amazon delivery driver loads a cart with packages on July 16, 2024 in San Francisco, California. With the US sizzling under heatwaves, Amazon drivers struggle to keep cool and brace for a rush of packages around Prime Day. — AFP
LOS ANGELES: After a particularly grueling day delivering packages in 90°F (32°C) outside of Philadelphia, Amazon delivery driver Randy woke up feeling off, checked the weather, and decided he didn’t feel safe going into work.
Worried that his boss might punish him by taking away future shifts, Randy, who asked to use only his first name for fear of retaliation, lied when he called in sick and said he was seriously ill.
“I wouldn't say I felt afraid of the heat but I could tell I wasn't in a fit state to drive,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
With heatwaves sweeping across the United States, drivers delivering packages for Amazon.com Inc – the largest package delivery player in the country – are having to work through record-setting temperatures.
In interviews with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, drivers complained of boiling hot vans, insufficient break time, and routes that are dangerous to complete in triple digit heat.
And with Amazon Prime Day taking place on July 16-17, there will be even more packages to deliver after the two-day sale in which the company typically does 1-2% of its annual business.
The company, the biggest US online retailer, says it has taken measures to keep the drivers delivering its packages safe.
Amazon does not directly employ its drivers but instead manages the fleet through the Delivery Service Partner (DSP) system, a network of small businesses that contract with Amazon and hire drivers directly.
When thermometers hit 115°F (46°C), Amazon's automated system tells workers to return to their stations and halt work.
In some areas, Amazon has been easing the flow of packages, retrofitting some vans with new air conditioning, allowing extra breaks, and providing water and electrolytes to drivers – all moves that many said helped take the edge off the brutal heat.
"We have industry-leading heat mitigation programs and technology across our network and many other companies are only now starting to do things we've done for years," Steve Kelly, an Amazon spokesperson, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in an email.
"While no company is perfect, we work hard to keep our employees and those who deliver on our behalf safe and are proud of the thousands of team members who work together to both prepare for and respond to these unprecedented heatwaves."
But sometimes, the protective measures aren't enough, according to drivers, DSPs, and Amazon dispatch workers who spoke to the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
“They send me out into the wild in an oven on wheels," said James, a driver in New York who recently quit delivering for Amazon and who asked that his full name be withheld for fear of retaliation.
"It can be scary."
‘Our drivers are struggling’
Ahead of Prime Day, around 130 million people, or about 39% of the US population, are living under some form of heat alert as climate change fuels extreme weather. Seventy-nine counties are under an extreme heat warning.
Matt Kaze, a former driver who is now helping operate an DSP in California, said that Amazon has “really stepped it up” during this year's heatwaves, citing initiatives to insulate the inside of vans, and the improvement of AC in his vehicle fleet.
But the manager of one DSP partner in Simi Valley, California said the volume of packages during the heatwave has not let up even though she asked Amazon to reduce the number of deliveries.
Still, she was grateful that Amazon had eased its “engine off compliance” rules, meaning drivers can keep the air conditioning running while they drop off a package.
Even so, a driver at her station suffered from heat stroke in June.
"Our drivers are struggling," the manager said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of business consequences.
Multiple drivers told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that they felt that slowing down or taking too many breaks would impact the routes they might get assigned in the future, or maybe lead to them being fired.
Amazon spokesperson Kelly said that Amazon gave drivers special gear to help cope with the heat, including sunscreen, electrolyte powder, and ‘cooling bandanas’.
"If at any point a delivery associate begins to feel unwell, they are instructed to return to their station," he said.
He added that last year Amazon had reduced routes by more than 96.9 million minutes across the US to allow for more break time during the heat.
‘It’s not complicated’
Experts say that staying safe in the heat is quite simple: people need to work slower, take more breaks, and spend time in the shade.
"It's not super complicated – we all know when we are outside jogging and it's too hot, we slow down, and if it's really hot, we sit down, and if it's too hot, we go inside and turn on the AC," said Juley Fulcher, the worker health and safety advocate at Public Citizen, a public interest and consumer advocacy group.
"But that's not always possible for an Amazon driver."
Amazon disputes this, saying that drivers are always free to stop if they feel unsafe in the heat.
Last year, a group of Amazon drivers in California formed a union in part due to concerns about heat safety on the job.
There is no federal standard for protecting workers from heat, although there is a general duty to keep employees safe on the job.
President Joe Biden's administration proposed a set of heat standards in July, but it could take years before the proposals are actually adopted, said Jordan Barab, a former official with OSHA, the federal workplace safety agency.
Many of the rules mandate practices Amazon already says it has in place, like increasing access to breaks as the heat index rises, and providing training on heat safety.
In practice, employers such as Amazon delivery partners are likely to fly under the radar of regulators, Barab said.
"Unless an employee is killed, you are not likely to see an inspector."
In the meantime, with temperatures climbing to over 100°F (38°C) in many parts of the US, drivers make every effort to stay cool.
"I keep my hair wet all day," Randy said. "I am always asking people to hose me down." – Thomson Reuters Foundation
