Six factory workers feared dead in Tennessee after being swept away during Hurricane Helene

AMY GOOD MAN: That is Democracy now!demokratienow.org. I’m Amy Goodman, with Nermeen Shaikh.

NERMEEN SHEECH: We now look at the impact of Hurricane Helene. Power outages and water shortages continue in six southeastern states. The death toll from the storm is nearly 200, with hundreds more still missing and presumed dead. That includes six workers at a plastics factory in Erwin, Tennessee, who were swept away when floodwaters rose around their workplace after their boss had reportedly threatened to fire anyone who left the company during the storm. This is the family of an Impact Plastics employee named Lidia Verdugo.

FERNANDO RUIZ: [translated] She was still working when she called me and she told me that it was really raining. And I told her to go. But she told me that they didn’t tell her anything.

COMMUNITY TRANSLATOR: If they had told them to leave earlier, maybe we would be here – they would still be here today and we wouldn’t be looking for them. But when they tried to leave, it was too late.

AMY GOOD MAN: The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating how some workers said Impact Plastics threatened to fire anyone who left before the storm. This is Robert Jarvis, one of the survivors.

WCYB REPORTER: What would you say to the company?

ROBERT JARVIS: Why did you make us work that day? Why? We shouldn’t have worked. We shouldn’t have been there. None of us should have been there. And I should have told them that.

AMY GOOD MAN: Impact Plastics said in a statement Monday that it monitored weather conditions during the storm and managers laid off workers, quote, “as water began covering the parking lot and adjacent access road and the plant lost power,” quote .

For more information, contact Cesar Bautista, campaign director for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, who is working in Erwin, Tennessee, to assist with Hurricane Helene relief efforts.

Cesar, welcome Democracy now! We only have a few minutes. Can you explain what happened? This plastics factory is located directly on a river. What were they told? Why were they so afraid that if they didn’t come to work they would be fired?

CAESAR BAUTISTA SANCHEZ: Yes. Hello. Good morning Thank you for having me.

Yes. Many family members have expressed, just like in the clip you showed, that they were told not to go yet, that they were still asking questions like, “Should we go?” or not yet ?” I think you were constantly going back and forth with one of the secretaries in the office. But as they tried to get answers, they noticed the water was getting higher and higher, like in the parking lot area. And once the factory made the decision to tell people, “Okay, you can leave,” it was just too late. And the water had risen so high that they could no longer move their cars and try to get to safety.

NERMEEN SHEECH: So what are you calling for, Cesar? You are obviously committed to the rights of these workers. What are you demanding?

CAESAR BAUTISTA SANCHEZ: Well, you know, it’s very difficult right now in these moments, you know, and we stand in solidarity with all the families who have lost a loved one. And most importantly, we are simply asking to ensure that there is equal access to the recovery plan that the city and state have initiated. So we’re just making sure that there are no language barriers, that everyone has equal access to all the resources provided, just to make sure that families have everything they need to rebuild their lives after this hurricane.

AMY GOOD MAN: So talk about how typical that was. To reiterate, Impact Plastics said: “At no time were employees told that they would be fired if they left the facility.” But overall, can we say anything about the fear of migrant workers? Plus, we’re currently talking about a huge six-state area. They work with the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition. We don’t really know how many people died. Current estimates are close to 200, but hundreds more are missing. And where do people seek refuge?

CAESAR BAUTISTA SANCHEZ: You know, here in Erwin, Tennessee right now, a lot of people are going to the county high school to find the refuge or resources that they’re looking for. This was also a great resource. The local church, one of the local churches, St. Michael’s, has just been a great support for the community to come together and grieve and just really process everything that’s happened. You know, that’s where people went mainly to find some comfort and support in the community. I would also say that the community as a whole has done a great job – it’s emerged as a unified forum, you know, just to really support each other and just stick together through this difficult process right now.

AMY GOOD MAN: And understanding climate change – for many immigrants, one of the reasons they came to this country, to flee the devastating effects of climate change in their country and to deal with it here today. All reports speak of the intensification and speed at which this storm strengthened due to climate change.

CAESAR BAUTISTA SANCHEZ: Right. And so, you know, with climate change as we’re seeing it, this is now starting to become more of a pattern here in Tennessee. You know, we had the hurricane just a few days ago. Last December, a tornado struck Nashville, Tennessee. And then, two years earlier, there was another tornado. And so we’ve noticed that this is starting to become a pattern.

So what we’re really demanding, you know, our communities and the state, not just in Tennessee but across the country, is that they have to have these evacuation plans for every city, but now also for every company that has all these workers there , to ensure that people are safe, but also to build an infrastructure where everyone has –

AMY GOOD MAN: Five seconds.

CAESAR BAUTISTA SANCHEZ: — equal access. Where everyone has equal access to their recovery.

AMY GOOD MAN: Cesar Bautista, we have to leave it at that, campaign director for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition in Erwin, Tennessee. I’m Amy Goodman, with Nermeen Shaikh.