No federal heat standard? NYC workers are building their own safety net.

Dave Carew was going on vacation. But first, he had some tabling to do.

It was Thursday, two days before the Fourth of July, and Carew, a UPS worker of 13 years, had set up an information booth with pamphlets and thermometers outside the company’s customer center in the north Bronx. His goal was to catch workers on their way in and out of shifts and educate them on how to stay safe when it’s blisteringly hot outside.

Weather forecasts in New York City predicted temperatures nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit over the holiday weekend — and the heat was already intensifying. Standing in the shade and sporting bright blue sunglasses, Carew talked to his fellow workers, reminding them of their right to take paid breaks in the heat.

“Heat safety is no joke,” he said the following day. Extreme heat protections have long been a concern for outdoor workers, and in recent years, unions representing delivery workers, farmworkers, and construction workers have been pushing for additional safety measures. In 2023, UPS workers won a labor contract with provisions requiring the company to install air-conditioning in new vehicles starting the following year. The safety measure was an important win, but Carew pointed out there are still risks on the job. In the back of delivery trucks where packages are kept, temperatures can still reach unsafe levels on very hot days.