Employees at This Plastics Factory Died Because Their Company Made Them Work During Hurricane Helene, Allegedly Telling Them Not to Evacuate

Over the past week, we have heard countless stories of the devastation Hurricane Helene wrought across the southeastern United States. One story in particular has not only underscored the catastrophic effects of climate change, but also the abominable response by certain corporations.

Impact Plastics in Erwin, Tennessee allegedly told their factory employees not to leave the facility on Friday, as flood waters filled the parking lot and cut off the road to safety. Because of this company's cruel inaction, multiple employees died in the floods, and more are still missing as of the time of this writing.

This is pure evil. Sign the petition demanding the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), which is currently looking into these events, hold Impact Plastics accountable for these deaths!

An employee who, thankfully, was able to get out alive recounted the harrowing details of what happened as he and others were apparently abandoned by their employer. His recollections are gut wrenching.

"None of us should have been there."

On September 27, workers moved ahead with their day as the weather got worse and worse. Suddenly, the lights went out and the parking lot quickly became flooded.

As employees went to move their cars out of the flooding, desperate to keep their means of escape, they asked managers if they should evacuate. Claiming that conditions weren't bad enough yet, management allegedly told them to stay put. Soon, it became too late for anyone to safely get out. They were trapped.

The driver of an open-bed truck picked up multiple employees, trying to save them from the rushing water -- debris hammered the truck so badly that people fell off into the flooding, and the truck eventually flipped. 

Employees were swept away into the water.

The day was a nightmare for these employees, one that continues as multiple employees are still missing. As of the time of this writing, the bodies of three of those missing employees have been found in the aftermath.

These employees deserved so much better. No job is worth a person's life. Impact Plastics prioritized profit over people, and their workers paid the ultimate price -- those who died can never be brought back, and those who lived will never truly be free from the trauma of that day.

We demand true accountability. Corporations must not be allowed to get away with risking the lives of their employees. This case has implications for working people all over the United States. As the Southeast United States recovers from Hurricane Helene, let justice for the employees of Impact Plastics be a part of that healing. Sign to demand a thorough investigation by TBI, and that justice be served!