PatronSaintofKillers
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee state authorities said Wednesday they are investigating the company that owns a plastics factory where 11 workers were swept away by cataclysmic flooding unleashed by Hurricane Helene.
As the nearby Nolichucky River swelled from rainfall, employees in the Impact Plastics factory in Erwin, a small community in rural Tennessee, kept working. Several asserted that they weren’t allowed to leave in time to avoid the storm’s impact. It wasn’t until water flooded into the parking lot and the power went out that the plant shut down and sent workers home.
Several never made it.
The raging waters swept 11 people away, and only five were rescued. Two of them are confirmed dead and are part of a toll across six states that has surpassed 160. Four others in the factory are still missing since they were washed away Friday in Erwin, where dozens of people were also rescued off the roof of a hospital.
https://apnews.com/article/hurricane-helene-tennessee-f7c4a460de588df7a4d5bc9efa756ecb
OceanCitySoul
Exposing the lie that we need less regulation because companies will automatically do the right thing.
taibeen
It was just a little water. No one wants to work these days.
SedatedSl0th
Fuck. I’m in the plastics industry, but thank goodness we have competent leaders that close the plant for the day (or longer if necessary) if there are dangerous travel conditions. Good news is that our plants are huge and this isn’t one of us, or our suppliers. Sad to hear. Fuck capitalism.
RetrogradeLlama
OMG - I hope the factory can still produce plastics! /S
mindstorm8191
I genuinely wonder how much of the plastic they produced that day is still a viable product for the company's customer. People died to produce that stuff.
nubblebun
Owner of impact plastics Gerald O’Connor, who let 6 employees die due to flooding in Hurricane Helene by telling them they’d be fired if they didn’t show up that day
Sageypie
Place I work has us do tornado drills pretty often. So we're meant to have a plan in place for them. We have never stopped running production for tornados. We've had tornados literally outside the backdoor, with management standing there, looking right out at it, and them deciding to keep things running because, "well it doesn't look like its heading this direction"
newsguycraigevans
VibratingNipples
So, this like a repeat of the Kentucky candle factory that resulted in 9 deaths when a tornado hit. They were threatened with termination if they left before the disaster struck. Same bullshit, different company. https://abcnews.go.com/US/employees-kentucky-candle-factory-destroyed-deadly-tornado-file/story?id=94868226
Klaxun
Yeah, and it looks like the lawsuits are still ongoing.
joysoystinkysauce
Yep, same storm (same story) that killed 6 Amazon employees in southern Illinois.
https://amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/dec/16/tornado-amazon-kentucky-candle-factory-workers-died
CheeseBalls
"Profits over lives" Must be in their bylaws. I hope they get sued
forelle
Prison for life for the whole chain of management.
Rogerwilco1974
Oh my god, those poor shareholders.
mediumnonstickskillet
I don't know what happened at Impact, but I was one of the people on that hospital roof. I can tell you that we had almost no warning and the time from when we got the warning until we were trapped was about 10 minutes. As you can see from the picture, it was a pretty day. No rain, though it had rained that morning. No one wanted to leave people and we were getting people without cars set up to ride out and in that time, we got trapped. in retrospect, I fucked up but at the time....
mediumnonstickskillet
...it didn't seem like that big of a hurry. Until suddenly it was. Water went from a couple inches outside to feet inside in moments. Impact is just down the road from us. Lots of people with no cars there. Organizing and getting everyone out had to be just a clusterfuck. If management told they they would be fired, I hope they all rot in hell after dying in prison.
MenloPart
I am sorry that you went through all of that, but glad you survived.
sydneygirl
I just read an article about this and they were at pains to mention two of the missing were Mexican nationals. So I guess they don't count or something??
Eucrow
Typical.
zombehtodd
The craziest part is that having the staff work that extra shift would not have helped the company in any way. In the aftermath of a hurricane, logistics across the board are wrecked. Whatever was produced that day wasn't going to matter, because it wasn't going anywhere. This is just short-sighted greed and disregard of others' safety. I hope someone gets charged with multiple counts of negligent homicide.
Elrohn
Everyone up the chain from that employee should be brought to a flooding river with a strong current and thrown in.
Can't swim? Fuck you
Can't touch the bottom? Fuck you
Have kids? Fuck you
Have a wife? Fuck you
You had a choice to be civil and use common fucking sense rather than hiding behind policy. Now I'm hiding behind policy...so guess what? Yeah, fuck you! Throws em in the river.
AWarningToOthers
Rignak
This is it right here folks. We are all expendable compared to their profits. Never forget,
Molotovbliss
Sypurist
FiveFingerDeafPunch
RubbleTrouser
“We are devastated by the tragic loss of great employees,” Impact Plastics founder Gerald O’Connor said in the statement Monday. “Those who are missing or deceased, and their families are in our thoughts and prayers.”
Yup, thoughts and prayers. Not I will compensate.
ButtBot9900
That's capitalism for you.
Badwolf09
AimingForAdorkable
Ahhhh yes. Children’s cartoons.
The only place where the truth can actually be said.
bobyran
As long as the capitalism is ok...
jumajumajei
For a LONG time it has been quite similar to the mafia politics seen in drug cartels, extremist groups ('n govs), totalitarian communists.
We should consider calling it what it is, crony capitalism is at least one step closer, and criminal scamming could be another one.
And the multiple big financial leaks give concrete proof of it.
We're just not understanding basic information, and thus aren't acting properly (esp. in the legal arena).
whatseventhepointt
Easier said than done when financially insecure and likely week to week but you’ve got to make your own conditions. A clear and present danger is always a good reason to tell your boss pound sand and put the place in the rear view mirror. It’s sad that they could not leave and suffered more
TheBappin
every one I talk to around here says they ignored the flash flood warnings just like every other flash flood warning they have gotten over the years because they have never actually happened. Within 1 hour my river went from "oh wow it's so high" to "oh, it's touching my back door". I think the warming system needs to let us know better when they actually mean it
FormerlySable
As someone who has lived in flash flood-prone areas for 30+ years, I can say that they are, like tornadoes, rather unpredictable. The way that land drains changes every time someone pours a new driveway, and almost no communities in the US study how to deal with flooding other than to build drainage ditches and pipes. However, NOAA kept saying that Helene was packing a lot of rain, and nobody in NC should’ve scoffed at that basic warning or thought that this time would be like other ones.
TheBappin
The thing is, I don't know who NOAA is. My phone made a sound, I saw it said flash flood warning, I put my phone down and continued my day. I didn't even know there was a hurricane happening. Now if someone messaged me on Call of Duty saying "hey, the end of the word is coming" I might have noticed
FormerlySable
I don’t watch TV at all, but Hurricane Helene was all over the national news (both in print and on the internet) for days before it made landfall. NOAA is the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration—the agency that every weatherman in the US gets their major weather news from. If you heard nothing before a single phone buzz, your local/regional weather forecasters did your community an incalculable disservice.
smittyatyou
So basically they said your working till they lost power and couldn't get production from them so they said okay go home we don't want to pay to have you standing around.
ilovebigmutts
Weren't allowed to leave? Sounds like slavery.
Skywatcher16
and this is why i will never willingly live in a republican state. here in the CIVILIZED world, theres this thing called the labor board
Skywatcher16
and they and their lawyers drool over the idea of a company that tells people they cant leave or their fired in an emergency.
WickedSludge
Some call it Capitalism.
WaterUnderTheRocketAppliances
They're allowed, but they won't. Because of the implication.
Housemaster
mindstorm8191
They could still leave, but they'd be fired immediately for doing so. It's not like they can go get a new job somewhere else the next day. 'Cost of living' is pretty much slavery
BobsBurgerslurker
I bet 100% the owner will say something along the lines of I never said anything like that.
rk57957
Yep, he also offered thoughts and prayers for the missing.
newsguycraigevans
Oh well! We're all good then!
HariboHeadhunter
He already released a statement refuting those directions. He'll probably pin it on a member of management between himself and the deceased. It could be true, but my cynicism leads me to believe that in a facility as small as 11 personnel, he is too involved in the daily operation of the place not to have had a direct say in whether or not production continued that day.
Either way, he should be held accountable for failing to provide clear instruction to evacuate in events like this one
SergeyPrkl
In normal world people just likes their own life more than the company where they work. In a situation like this, nobody would be there.
HariboHeadhunter
I agree. In a just world it would have been okay to leave, even if it meant being fired. a distressing amount of folks don't have that luxury. If losing your job means not making rent/mortgage next month, what option is there really? This country needs stronger worker protections to prevent these choices from having to be made at all. Nothing being made in that shitty little warehouse was worth even a single life.
SergeyPrkl
what options? = Unions and their unemployment payment. Here, if you loose your job, you get about 80% of your salary for 500 days. Note that one week counts as 5 days. After that, if you don't manage to get a new job, you drop into the basic unemployment allowance, wich is about 760 euros/month. Your rent and utilities will be paid by social services. Yes, they even pay mortgage installments but that is reviewed every month. But then you have to actively try to sell your property/apartment after
SergeyPrkl
2 years. Banks have to offer mandatory 24 non paid "free" months from mortgage installments that you can use when in trouble, so you pay only the monthly rate of interest, or social services wll pay them for you for those free months. Usually you get another job a lot faster than that. Like My spouse got fired today. We are not in trouble, we will not loose our house etc. We just take those bank free months for now. So it compensates for the lower Union unemployment payment.
FreedVentureStein
Member when workers rose up and rioted? Pepperidge Farm members
Clockworkdancerobot
Sypurist
SecretAgentSuperBooger
RedIronCrown
They mostly come at night. Mostly.
mushuporky
Government response to covid
SpinnerMask
What's this from?
Krytture
I mean a bunch of games did this as mission objective, not the exact words, but the form. StarCraft clicks in for me. But others did the same black screen typed out green text to give you the very basics of what you need to do.
Septcanmat
It’s a paraphrase of the message in the MOTHER computer from Alien.
PrecogFrogOnALog
This is the original message from ALIEN
Clockworkdancerobot
I kept the language mostly the same, including the wrong spelling. *shrug*
PrecogFrogOnALog
Yeah, was just answering the question about where is from and providing the original. I like your edit, though. Unfortunately, it's just true enough to be depressingly plausible.
oneloverasta
I hope that bastard gets nailed to the fuckin wall for this. I know all too well how hard that balance point is when we are talking about potentially losing the only household income due to a storm that may or may not be as bad as they say it is. Hindsight’s 20/20 so knowing now how bad it was it’s easy to say they should have gotten out, but I would struggle hard if I was told stay or lose my job over what I think is basically a bad storm. So fuck that guy for telling them to stay.
Musamura0987
I agree. I hope he gets charged for manslaughter or negligence. He shouldnt be allowed to walk free because he needed to make more money on the lives of those people
jrmco1
In a week, everyone will have forgotten and/or moved on to the next crisis. He'll find a whole new crew to abuse, and be right back to business as fucking usual in two weeks, tops.
mektel
Regulations are written in blood unfortunately. Given it was TN I assume no new regulations will be written.
newsguycraigevans
Republicans will see to it that a small plaque is set up for the fallen. The Republican leaders will be present for the unveiling photo op. The dead will have "They worked their full shift" etched on their grave stones. What the hell more do you want?
duktayp
Are the plastics okay?
GrumpyOldMan55
Asking the real questions.
onlyheretoargue
Always have been, always will be!
Wuz314159
WILL NO ONE THINK OF THE BILLIONAIRES AND THEIR PROFIT MARGINS?!?!?!?!
NarratesTheDarkerStory
Guys? Please, this is serious. Can someone tell us, I'm begging, how does this affect the bottom line?
Vkiwi2
seems rather short sighted, depending on the skill of the workers... little extra production vs hiring and training new staff at a lower wage... and as i type that out.. it makes sense...
LucianKane
You guys are monsters, why the fuck are you being so callous about this? Why is no one thinking of the share holders?
Vkiwi2
well they are... new workers.. paided less ...= profit.. = happy shareholders.... btw.. anyone know where the exit is for this timeline??
BootsNCatsNBootsNCatsN
Search your heart.. no, seriously, there are plastics in our heart tissue
hickorybakedbeans
They joined their smaller friends in the waterways
pickinganameistoomuchpressure
is the CEOs Fleet of yachts gonna be ok?
thedill2000
Yes sadly. None of the workers were Kardashians.
Narwhilian
But what of the shareholders? Someone please think of the shareholders!
HarryBeauner
Production has taken a hit. There will be a whole new staff by Friday. The work must continue. /s
DyslexicLemur
This actually happens right after a coal mine collapse in West Virginia back in 2008. It's messed up.
hellvis
I think you mean "Is the billionaire's yacht money okay??"
Gayforbae
Oh they'll be around forever
Icantthinkofacleverusernametouse
I hope the company gets loads of assistance
graceinsheepsclothing
Oh yeah. They'll live forever.
vicvalour
In the ocean
Bystandr
Criminal negligence
MeeepMorp
Homicide.
Tumescentpie
Aka normal capitalism
ChristopherHallett
It's not negligence when it's deliberate.
BlueSharpie4
Endstage capitalism
cepacolusmaximus
anybody know where the owner was while all this was going down? any bets on "working remotely?"
Pyrowolf1
More like manslaughter
CoffeeMakesMeTwitchy
GQP: lives < profit
shitheadtookmyname
Ok honestly were they locked in?
yourmomsfavoriteplayer
You're the only shithead here so it looks like you took your own name
CliffWestern
You ever live paycheck to paycheck before?
holymanbatbatman
No. Negligence implies neglect. This was intentional and active.
shitheadtookmyname
What was intentional? Were they physically confined to the building and chained up?
creamcheezus
"Several asserted that they weren’t allowed to leave in time to avoid the storm’s impact."
letmesetthisstraight
Fucking wild, my buddy’s family owns this company.
RedOnDaHead
…yikes
ChristopherHallett
Turns out, your buddy's family are cunts.
letmesetthisstraight
I could have told you that. You guys have no idea, I don’t even know where to begin.
ChristopherHallett
It's only a small sample size because I've only ever met a handful of rich people, but every single one of them gave me the ick. None of them seemed to view other people as having any inherent worth or value. Like, the one guy with three kids never outright SAID as such, but you could tell he thought of his two sons and one daughter as "heir", "burden", and "soon enough she'll be someone else's burden, I hope she marries rich".
letmesetthisstraight
Last time I spoke to the father I mentioned how the priest at his evangelical church was recently arrested for molestation. He flew into a rage and ended up blaming the democrats.
Togame21
We should have the death penalty for companies. Just sell all assets, pay all debts, get all workers unemployment.
mouseasw
Transfer ownership from the CEO and shareholders etc to the workers. That way if the workers want to fix the problems and keep the business going, that's an option, or they can cash out.
hfctom
I'm sure the owner will get a stern talking to and a couple thousand dollar fine which will be forgiven in a few weeks.
Clockworkdancerobot
Should be. but CEOs will say "we don't condone this, the managers were responsible." while demanding managers enforce strict attendance with high quotas.
Sticklebrickk
Gotta squeeze the last drop of blood out of your american workers to maximize profits
dposton70
The manager will be let go with several months' pay and a glowing recommendation from the CEO.
johnnyhandbags
Executives will always pass the buck back to front line managers. The days of "the buck stops here" are long over.
johnnyhandbags
Sarbannes-Oxley was supposed to solve this but it is rarely enforced
PimpinKen
I don't take any responsibility at all.gif
Bystandr
IMO the CEO is responsible for what the managers and workers do.
OuchYoureonmyhair
If there is a safety policy in place for inclement weather, and attendance quotas be damned, are managers are supposed to make the decision to send workers home? If that's how the rule is written, then the CEO washes his/her hands of any responsibility. I truly think that decision would come from a plant manager or VP of production. I don't think we saw our company's CEO except when they had a mass layoff.
Bystandr
Well the call could come from the CEO, too, but good point: the manager is likely not to be the top authority in attendance, so if thats the VP of production, the 'plant manager' or senior manager, then *IF* they have the authority to make the call, then they should. If they, however make the wrong call, IMO everyone above them: VP, CEO, et all should be held equally responsible.
Clockworkdancerobot
100% should be. but *gestures* Amazon wouldn't let people leave in their warehouse deaths.
Ironferrox
Amazon also told drivers to keep driving through tornado warnings.
Regulations are written in either the blood of workers or the blood of CEO’s it takes fewer dead CEO’s than dead workers to force a change
ProjectDeltaTheRealDeal
Then get busy. Save the planet. Kill a billionaire.