HAULING UPS'S FREIGHT

THE LARGEST U.S. DELIVERY COMPANY IS ALSO THE BIGGEST CORPORATE SPENDER ON POLITICS. HERE'S WHY

KAREN DAWSON FELT HER back pop as she tried to lift a package in August 1994 from the top shelf of her United Parcel Service truck in Atlanta. Six months earlier, the 85-lb. parcel wouldn't have been there: it was on the truck only because UPS had raised its weight limit on such delivery parcels from 70 lbs. to 150 lbs. in February 1994. Dawson, 37, underwent surgery for a ruptured disk but has been disabled ever since. Today she blames the company for jacking up the weight limit beyond what workers had learned to handle with comfort. "I wouldn't have...

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