One worker said Impact Plastics managers would not let employees leave, which company denies
Several employees at a plastics factory in eastern Tennessee were killed during Hurricane Helene or are missing, amid warnings that the storm’s current death toll of more than 130 is likely to rise substantially as subsiding floodwaters allow rescuers to search through the wreckage.
Impact Plastics confirmed there had been fatalities at its plant in Erwin but did not say how many people had been killed. The company said there were missing and deceased employees as well as a contractor.
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Jacob Ingram, a mold changer at the company, told the Knoxville News Sentinel that as the flooding started, managers instructed employees to move their cars away from the rising water – but would not let them leave. “They should’ve evacuated when we got the flash flood warnings, and when they saw the parking lot,” he said to the newspaper. "When we moved our cars, we should’ve evacuated then … we asked them if we should evacuate, and they told us not yet, it wasn’t bad enough.
If you’re in danger from humans, fire, or disaster I don’t give a shit if you might lose your job.
Leave.
They were threatened with loss of their livelihoods, and disinformed of the risk to their lives.
Totally. My wife works in a skyscraper and they had a fire on the 6th floor and were told not to leave while the firefighters investigate. She’s on the 25th, so I told her to leave anyway until they can clear the fire. Why risk it? By the time the FF arrive and clear it, it could be too late with people flooding the stairwells to get out.
Exactly. If firefighters need to check it out, I’m taking that as a reason to distrust the structure.
Live to sue another day.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xYfH8nftFpw
Here’s an interview with a survivor. It is infuriating.
I wonder if Terry was okay during the storm, since it took him ten fucking minutes to call back to say they were allowed to go home.
Another win for greed, capitalism and the American way!
If you think you aren’t just a number. Remember this day.
What’s truly sad is that people will defend working through life-threatening conditions and just think of it as American Exceptionalism.
In this case, I hope the family members and employees file a massive lawsuit against Impact Plastics.
tragic company name
It’s just going to get blamed on whatever mid level manager relayed the instructions.
Hopefully what’s left of the business is sued into the ground for such willful negligence
Your life is more valuable than your livelihood. Idk why in anyone’s right mind would even be there during a hurricane
The thing is you never expect it to get so bad that you might die it’s more like you think you’ll be stuck at work overnight or something like that and unfortunately it’s not worth losing your livelihood over having to spend a night at work. Unfortunately by the time people realize how bad it is it’s usually too late.
Because they are undocumented and are afraid their employer will have them deported if they don’t do what they’re told. That’s one reason.
There is no proof of this and no the odds of this being why they didn’t leave is so low. Most people in small rural towns don’t have options of employment, so factory work is really all they have access to. It’s a reason why small rural towns die when the mine or factory shuts down.
You have the disposable income to be able to post online. You can afford some sort of device and internet access. You probably don’t worry about how you are going to eat tonight.
There aren’t a lot of jobs in these shit hole places. There aren’t a lot of social services. Lose your job and starve versus stay and hope things pass over.
Yes I own a home but I’m broke as fuck between paychecks. I have less than $100 in my bank account to last two weeks until my next paycheck. Do I live frugal and have a wife and a son.
This is literally some triangle shirtwaist shit
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I suppose it depends on the job, but for mechanics that’s just true, since they own their tools (or will once they finish paying off the snapon guy).
