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NEWARK, NJ — When Luis Ferrer gets behind the wheel of a truck and hits the tarmac of Newark Airport – sharing the space alongside jumbo jets and other large vehicles – it can get so hot in the cabin that he becomes dizzy and light-headed. And in the summer? Forget about it, he says.
“I worry about what will happen if I pass out one day while I am driving,” he said.
Ferrer, a driver for global catering company Gate Gourmet, is one of the employees who regularly spend a large chunk of their work day transporting and unloading catering carts for United Airlines and other airlines that operate out of Newark Airport. It’s a physically demanding job that exposes workers to scorching temperatures, especially during the summer months.
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The problem? Workers say that the air conditioners in some of the trucks they drive every day are on the fritz – exposing them to hazardous temperatures, according to their union, Unite Here Local 100.
It’s “uncomfortable” to say the least, said Alveiro Arango, who has been employed with Gate Gourmet nearly three years and has more than 21 years of experience driving airline catering trucks for United Airlines.
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“On top of the extreme weather we’ve been experiencing recently, exhaust from airline engines only increases the heat when we are out working,” Arango said.
“We can’t afford to be impaired because we don’t feel well because it’s too hot – there is no margin for error on the tarmac,” Arango implored.
Patch reached out to Gate Gourmet seeking comment about the workers’ allegations and how the company protects its workers from extreme heat on the job. We received the following reply from a spokesperson:
“Gate Gourmet is committed to providing a safe and fulfilling working environment for our valued employees. We have a robust set of policies and protocols in place including a heat illness prevention plan. The plan entails providing water and shade, offering breaks from the heat, monitoring the weather and employee training. These policies have been in place for several years and are updated regularly.”
But according to the drivers and their union, the company’s protocols aren’t nearly enough.
A proposed state law could help cool down the situation, advocates say. If it crosses the finish line, S-2422/A-3521 would force employers to obey a state-mandated “heat stress standard” for their workers who are at risk of extreme heat – or face a potential stop-work order.
“No worker should have to endure unsafe working conditions due to extreme heat,” said one of the bill’s sponsors, Sen. Joseph Cryan, who supported the Gate Gourmet drivers at a recent news conference.
“With record-breaking temperatures affecting our state, it’s vital that we protect our workforce from the dangers of excessive heat,” agreed Assemblywoman Annette Quijano, another sponsor of the legislation who attended last week’s press event.
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The workers’ campaign has also found support from immigration advocacy group Make the Road New Jersey.
It isn’t only the broken air conditioning that is turning up the heat for Gate Gourmet workers at Newark Airport, union spokespeople say.
According to a statement from Unite Here:
“Employer health care premiums at Gate Gourmet are high, and many workers are not able to pay for the insurance. After six years of bargaining for a new union contract that would provide better wages and good, affordable health care, workers at Gate Gourmet locations nationwide –including over 1,000 workers at [Newark Airport] – could strike as soon as July 30 if they are released by the National Mediation Board.”
“My coworkers and I deserve protections from the heat, and we also deserve to know that we’ll be able to afford treatment if we were to become sick with a heat-related illness on the job,” said Ishan Rumph, a driver for Gate Gourmet at Newark Airport.
“I’m standing up with my coworkers to demand a new union contract that gives us the good, affordable health care we deserve, and I’m ready to strike on July 30 if we have the opportunity to do so,” Rumph said.
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