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.

  • @SpaceNoodle
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    1302 months ago

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

        • [email protected]
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          262 months ago

          Next time you volunteer at a shelter, ask the folks you’re helping which is the most dangerous season.

        • @[email protected]
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          02 months ago

          This absolute beet thinks winter in the hilly side of Tennessee doesn’t get several inches of snow. Or that you can just brave it if you lack shelter.

          This is bad, and you should feel bad.

      • @[email protected]
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        -322 months ago

        Loss of income in a rural area where the boss will tell all his buddies at the Irish pub to blacklist you from being hired

        Liberals love sneering at working class folk using thinly veiled “advice”

        Oh just find a better job that pays more with less stress. Just move, or just buy a truck that can ford the water. Just quit! Just form a union, it’s that simple!

        Meanwhile if anything makes them feel the slightest bit uncomfortable they lose their shit, let alone if something stops them from their daily Starbucks.

        • Lemminary
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          322 months ago

          I have never in my life heard advice from libruls like you describe. I don’t know what kool-aid you’re drinking.

          • @Eldritch
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            112 months ago

            As the other poster pointed out. They’re using the term with reference to economic liberalism. What the US was founded upon. What we today generally refer to as capitalism. Economic liberalism is a mouthful. It was generally shortened to liberalism and it’s adherence called liberals. The modern use of the term is a warping of that. Realistically wealthy Democrats and Wealthy Republicans are both liberals. Just not the Liberals you would be referring to with the term liberal. You’re using it as slang they’re using it as a proper noun/term.

          • @[email protected]
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            22 months ago

            it’s largely the american right who call the left liberals, anyone on the left who identifies as a liberal should reconsider their use of the term.

          • @[email protected]
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            112 months ago

            I believe from context that the person you are replying to was using Liberal meaning:

            a person who favors an economic theory of laissez-faire and self-regulating markets
            

            Not the left-leaning meaning. It’s another reason political discourse is so awful. People aren’t using common definitions of their vocabulary.

        • @jaybone
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          52 months ago

          These are the edgy ml “liberals” right? Just checking.