News @lemmy.world Stopthatgirl7 @lemmy.world 2mo ago

Tennessee investigating plastics factory after workers trapped by Hurricane Helene floods died or went missing

www.nbcnews.com Tennessee investigating plastics factory after workers trapped by Hurricane Helene floods died or went missing

Surviving employees alleged Impact Plastics told them to be at work and released them too late to escape floodwaters; the company has said it did not threaten to fire anyone.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the state's criminal investigation agency, said Wednesday it is looking into allegations against an Erwin plastics factory where several workers died and some went missing after they were swept away by floodwaters from Hurricane Helene.

"At the request of 1st Judicial District Attorney General Steve Finney, TBI agents are investigating allegations involving Impact Plastics," Leslie Earhart, the bureau's spokesperson, said in a statement to NBC News. The bureau deferred additional questions to the District Attorney General's Office.

Finney in a statement said that he specifically asked "that they review the occurrences of Friday, September 27, 2024, to identify any potential criminal violations."

18 comments

The company said "we didn't threaten to fire anyone" but I guarantee its heavily implied.
I work a few exits away from there. They have bad feedback from previous employees. Here’s the local news interview with an employee: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfuRLcpSFak
I wonder if the owner is booking a flight to a non-extraditable country or if he's going to go private.
- The worst that will happen is a tax deductable fine. If you kill people but you do it for a corporation, nobody goes to prison.
- Its Tennessee. He'll buy a steak dinner for the investigator at the club and they will call it good.
The "Tennessee Bureau of Investigation" would probably inspire more confidence if their acronym wasnt TBI.
- Why?
  
  TBI is a commonly seen initialism in US reporting that stands for "Traumatic Brain Injury". Given the relative amount of education in Tennessee, and their backwards stance on every issue from women's health to wearing mixed fabrics, identifying as the 'TBI' is er... rather unflattering.
Bring back Pillory.
- Seeing as these people drowned, do the old salem witch trials. Throw the CEO and management into the water weighted down, and if they drown, they were innocent. If they live, they are guilty and should be burned at the stake.
The workers were asked to stay even after part of the parking lot was starting to flood.

It was after the power went out that they closed the factory.

Tennessee didn’t declare a state of emergency in the county until after the flooding started.
- It's even worse because there is a river in the other side of the road from them. It was the river flooding into the parking lot. There is a spillway or a dam a little farther downstream.
I love in the insurance industry when they say our customers need us, you need to be here.

Yeah it's frozen and you know who won't need an insurance claim? Me.

This kind of shit is gross. A handful of dollars YOUR dollars means fuck all to me.
- Plus, it ends up costing them more in the long run.
  
  Shutting down the production line was probably cheaper than a few wrongful death lawsuits.

18 comments