UPS driver fired after video caught demeaning comment
UPS has fired a driver after he was caught on video using profane and demeaning language on Dec. 17 at the home of a Hispanic family on Milwaukee's south side where he was supposed to deliver a package but did not leave it.
Forward Latino, a nonprofit dedicated to assisting the Hispanic community, held a news conference Tuesday at the Wisconsin Hispanic Scholarship Foundation where Darryl Morin, president and chairman of the group's board, spoke on behalf of the family.
Morin showed a video caught on a Ring camera at 6:48 p.m. Dec. 17 where a person wearing a UPS uniform and holding a package walks up to the front door of the home.
The man is heard saying, “Now you don't get (expletive) nothing because you are a stupid (expletive). Can't read and write or speak the (expletive) language.”
Morin and the family believe the driver saw the last name “Aviles” on the package, which prompted his reaction.
According to the Ring camera video, the man did not knock on the door or attempt to deliver the package. Nor did the man ring the doorbell.
The homeowner was not available to comment, but his mother, Shirley Aviles, spoke on his behalf.
“I just don't understand how somebody that doesn't know my son can make so many assumptions," she told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “Just by reading his name on the package.”
Tracking information shows that the package, which was supposed to be a Christmas gift, was returned to the shipper. Aviles' son ultimately received the package on Dec. 28.
In a statement, Ald. JoCasta Zamarripa said she stands with the Aviles family.
“This is simply unacceptable conduct and reflects very poorly on UPS,” Zamarripa said in a statement. “The Latino community and the entire Milwaukee metro area deserve respectful and non-racist service from UPS and all businesses.”
UPS issued the following statement:
“We immediately contacted the family to offer our deepest apologies when we learned about this incident. There is no place in any community for racism, bigotry or hate. This is very serious and we promptly took action, terminating the driver's employment. UPS is wholeheartedly committed to diversity, equity and inclusion.”
Aviles said UPS reached out to distant family and until Tuesday afternoon had not returned any calls from Forward Latino.
Jessica Rodriguez is a Report for America corps reporter who focuses on news of value to underserved communities for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Please consider supporting journalism that informs our democracy with a tax-deductible gift to this reporting effort at JSOnline.com/RFA.