MEMPHIS, Tenn. – UPS employees and a union leader are calling for more security after more than a dozen vehicles belonging to employees at the Memphis International Airport were broken into this week.
In the parking lot of the UPS facility at the Memphis International airport, employees tell us they’ve been targeted time after time.
“They’ve been hit pretty rough,” said James E. Jones, president of Teamsters Local 667-Memphis.
We confirmed thieves hit 13 cars this week, nine of those in the UPS parking lot. But we dug deeper and discovered these break-ins are just the latest in a rash plaguing the property.
There have been more than 50 reports of auto break-ins to airport police in the last three months. The majority of those have been smash and grabs happening on UPS property. Those targeted are essential workers, many of them delivery drivers.
Memphis Airport facilities repeatedly hit by auto burglaries, reports show
Workers we talked to say security isn’t up to par.
“They expect us to come to work every day and deliver packages to these customers during the trying times that we’re in,” said an employee who wished to remain anonymous. “We do that. We come into work every day and we do our jobs and all we’re asking in return is that our property be protected.”
As we’ve reported, UPS isn’t the only company recently seeing a break-in surge. Employee’s cars parked at other large businesses have become victim, along with those in neighborhoods and even those belonging to first responders at fire stations.
“This cannot be part of the norm,” Jones said. “We have to do more but we have to do it together. Just like these criminals are working together to do these things we have to work together to stop it.”
Jones says his team reached out to UPS and other companies experiencing the thefts. They’re urging companies to take proactive steps to keep employees safe like more security, better lighting.
They say at the end of the day, it’s about keeping people safe.
“Sometimes companies do need a little push or a nudge for them to remember that it’s not all about penny pinching and profit margins and things of that nature,” Jones said.
In the meantime, an airport person spokesperson told us airport police are adjusting their patrols accordingly, and they’re working with their tenants for future security improvements.
“We understand our employees’ frustration, and we are cooperating with the responding authorities,” UPS said in a statement.
