this post was submitted on 01 Oct 2024
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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.

...

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.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 day ago

This is literally some triangle shirtwaist shit

[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 day ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 day ago

113 years ago the Triangle Waistshirt Factory Fire also killed a fuckload of people... and the owners got off scot-free.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Not capitalism, just the south.

They never got over losing their slaves, first they kept going with Jim crow and the KKK, then right to work meant they could treat poor white people bad too.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)

"If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you." -LBJ

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

For a second I thought you were saying LeBron James said that lol

[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It's just going to get blamed on whatever mid level manager relayed the instructions.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 day ago

"Use your best judgement." WINK WINK

If the manager had sent everyone home and the factory wasn't destroyed, they'd get fired for it.

[–] [email protected] 125 points 2 days ago (5 children)

If you’re in danger from humans, fire, or disaster I don’t give a shit if you might lose your job.

Leave.

[–] [email protected] 127 points 2 days ago (1 children)

They were threatened with loss of their livelihoods, and disinformed of the risk to their lives.

[–] [email protected] 52 points 2 days ago (10 children)

Moreover, loss of income before winter is a death sentence.

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[–] [email protected] 39 points 2 days ago (1 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 2 days ago

Exactly. If firefighters need to check it out, I’m taking that as a reason to distrust the structure.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

Can I just kill myself first instead

[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 days ago

Live to sue another day.

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[–] [email protected] 24 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Name for shame. I only find "plastic factory" and "company"?

People should know where they don't want to work.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 day ago

The south. You don't want to work, or live in the south.

They didn't pass right to work because they love workers.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It's in the body of the post; the company is called Impact Plastics.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 day ago

Ah, thanks! Didn't see that.

[–] [email protected] 59 points 2 days ago (2 children)

NBC news had an article that not once mentioned that employees said they were not allowed to leave. Just that the company said what the company said publicly. Totally pro-corpo.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/hurricane-tennessee-deaths-plastic-factory-rcna173351

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Holy crap, I didn't believe you until I read this.

I hope future Google searches for Tavleen Tarrant and Suzanne Gamboa show this comment. Those journalists are disgusting scum of human beings. I would be ashamed to work at the same company as them.

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[–] [email protected] 31 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Hopefully what's left of the business is sued into the ground for such willful negligence

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 day ago

Not enough. The people implementing that kind of work culture need prison time.

[–] [email protected] 61 points 2 days ago (1 children)

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xYfH8nftFpw

Here's an interview with a survivor. It is infuriating.

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[–] [email protected] 62 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Another win for greed, capitalism and the American way!

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 days ago

If you think you aren’t just a number. Remember this day.

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[–] [email protected] 43 points 2 days ago (2 children)

In this case, I hope the family members and employees file a massive lawsuit against Impact Plastics.

[–] [email protected] 36 points 2 days ago (1 children)

It wouldn't surprise me if the business is leveraged so that any lawsuit, while successful, would be like squeezing blood from a stone.

And unless they can pierce the corporate veil, the CEO can't be held personally liable.

God, I fucking hate corporate personhood.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 days ago

I think in this case an argument could be made for personal culpability, and I for one hope they are charged with manslaughter.

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[–] [email protected] 37 points 2 days ago (2 children)

My siblings live in an area affected by Helene, and I thank fucking god the one that works in a warehouse has the Gen Z attitude of “get fucked lol” when it comes to employers.

When the worst of the storm was coming through the stance of county 911 was that if you call they’re not coming unless someone is about to die. And yet some of these companies expect people to risk their lives to show up for $10-15 an hour? It’s insane.

I understand why everyone can’t just tell their employer to go fuck themselves, it’s just a horrible situation if you ever find yourself in the position of having to make the call of, ‘do I lose my job for what may or may not be a genuine emergency?’

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

Another insane thing is that emergency personnel get paid pennies as well. I have a friend who used to work as an EMT in Boston (~2021), and he was paid $15/hr.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Red States like cheap labor with the life is cheap attitude.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 days ago (1 children)

That's why they're "pro birth" because they need more bodies to fill the meat grinder.

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (8 children)

Your life is more valuable than your livelihood. Idk why in anyone’s right mind would even be there during a hurricane

[–] [email protected] 41 points 2 days ago

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.

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 2 days ago (1 children)

At least they died making a line go up in the bank account of some rich people who already have more than enough money than they know what to do with.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Will they be personally accountable for that faulty decision?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 day ago

We have performed a detailed investigation and determined the responsibility was entirely the fault of 2nd junior line supervisor Ricky, who was hired last week and has been fired.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Holding people financially accountable for the crimes they pay others to commit is bad for "the economy". I'm not even exaggerating.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 days ago (1 children)

What loyal employees they would rather die if it means helping their company profit this is who you should to look to for guidance.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 2 days ago

When you're the one in the household with the job that makes actual money, threats of "leave and your fired" can make you do unreasonable things. This irrationality can only be alleviated by collective bargaining and unionization... the employees standing up and saying "nope, there's a flash flood predicted tomorrow, we're not going to be coming in." Remember, these folks are working hard for a wage; their bosses and the owners are making the real money off their labor. All that matters to the company is the profit that could be lost if they shuttered one day for safety's sake.

Shutting the factory down for a little rain and wind? That could effect output and the bottom line... can't have that... I'm gonna need you to put your life at risk for our wealth or you can start looking for other work. Work that might not pay this well/have health insurance and other benefits you family needs to survive. Everyone who lives through it gets a pizza party!

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