54.2 degrees (130 Fahrenheit). That's how high the heat index rose inside of a Lufthansa airport food delivery truck at Dallas-Fort Worth airport in Texas.
Lufthansa has decided to save a few bucks by using trucks without AC -- in some cases they actually physically removed air conditioning units from trucks.
Now, workers are dizzy, dehydrated and exhausted. A driver in Phoenix even passed out, causing a crash. This has to end now.
The workers’ union UNITE HERE is fighting back, but Lufthansa is the largest airline in Europe. Workers need a global movement to force Lufthansa to ensure safety at airports.
LSG Sky Chefs, owned by Lufthansa, provides in-flight catering to airlines. Workers spend hours each day driving trucks and loading heavy carts, often in extreme temperatures.
According to a report by UNITE HERE, the heat index in truck cabins was measured to be as high as 54.2 Celsius (130 degrees Fahrenheit).
Last year, Lufthansa driver Christopher Mays passed out from dehydration and caused a crash at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
Mays believes if Lufthansa hadn’t chosen to use trucks without air conditioning, the accident would never have happened.
This year, a powerful heat wave in the Southwest of the U.S. grounded flights in Phoenix, Arizona and caused nine consecutive days of 43.3 degree temperatures (110 Fahrenheit) in Las Vegas. Workers can’t wait any longer for air conditioning.
But instead, Lufthansa is choosing to cut costs, and airport workers are paying the price.
Airlines are incredibly vulnerable to public pressure by consumers. SumOfUs was started to hold corporations accountable, and we have a track record of winning against airlines.
We fought one of the largest airlines in Canada for failing to adequately prosecute sexual assault -- shining a national spotlight on the abuse and forcing an audit of the company's policies. We’ve even gone up against Lufthansa before -- and forced them to stop advertising on Breitbart.
Let’s add another win against Lufthansa to the list.
Tell Lufthansa: install air conditioning in trucks and stop dangerous conditions now.
More information
Forbes. 29 August 2017.
UNITE HERE. 1 August 2017.