OSHA investigates UPS worker's death two weeks before retirement

Family mourns 44-year veteran weeks from planned September 17 retirement

A spokesperson from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration confirmed the agency is investigating the death of Paul Roberts, 63, who was struck by a company vehicle on the night of September 4 while on duty at the UPS customer care center in Earth City, Missouri.

Roberts, of nearby St Charles, Missouri, died at the scene, according to local police, who said the vehicle’s driver cooperated with investigators who responded to reports of the fatal accident. Local police provided a statement to The Guardian on Thursday.

Roberts had been employed by UPS for 44 years, having started with the company as a teenager sorting packages and working various jobs over the ensuing decades, most recently as a feeder truck driver, his sister, Donna Schraer, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He had married his wife, Barb, in March after 37 years together and had planned to retire on September 17 to take up gardening and collect his retirement benefits.

“It’s just unbelievable – that close to finally [being] able to relax,” Schraer told the Post-Dispatch. In a separate interview with the St. Louis news station KSDK, Schraer added: “It’s sad he’s not going to be able to celebrate” his retirement with his loved ones. “I hate just being shocked that this is all going on right now.”

An OSHA spokesperson said the investigation could take up to six months. OSHA does not list any other fatalities at the Earth City site, according to agency information cited by the Post-Dispatch, though the newspaper noted two past workplace incidents at the location resulted in amputations and others resulted in heat-related injuries; none involved vehicles.

KSDK separately reported that UPS employees who contacted the station raised concerns about “the dark conditions the night Roberts was killed, in addition to ongoing safety concerns.” The station did not name the employees.

UPS spokesperson Jim Mayer said in a statement to The Guardian: “We focus on the safety of our people every day. We train our people to prevent accidents and injuries and teach them how to stay healthy and safe.” Mayer said UPS has “invested more than 35[m] hours and over $2[bn] on safety training” since 2021. The statement also said: “We’re saddened by the tragic situation in Earth City. Our heartfelt thoughts are with the family, friends and coworkers of our team member.”

Teamsters Local 688, the labor union to which Roberts belonged, described his death as “a tragedy” and said in a statement: “Our members’ safety is priority one when on the job.”

Roberts is survived by his wife, his sister, his children and his grandchildren, KSDK reported. They all would remember his legacy as a “hard-working family man”, she told the channel.