Woman speaks out after brother dies in Amazon warehouse
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">US-based retail giant Amazon is facing questions and criticism over its health and safety policies after six workers died when an Illinois warehouse was destroyed by a tornado on Friday.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The tornado was one of at least 30 that left areas across several states in devastation, and caused the Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois, to collapse.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One person was injured and 45 others were rescued safely.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Speaking at a news conference on Saturday, Edwardsville Fire Chief James Whiteford said walls on both sides of the building collapsed inwards, while the roof collapsed downward. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">According to the National Weather Service, the tornado touched down in Edwardsville at approximately 8.35pm.</span></p>
<p><img style="width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7846342/amazon1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/b402df1e66454952971e7c37c5d36492" /></p>
<p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">First responders surrounded the Edwardsville warehouse, where around 100 people were trapped. Image: Getty Images</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Amazon has said its team had “worked quickly” in response to the tornado, and that site leaders told employees on duty to take shelter at around 8.16pm local time.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When contacted by the <em>BBC</em>, Amazon said in a statement that the site received tornado warnings between 8.06pm and 8.16pm local time, before the tornado struck at 8.27pm.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, Rachel Cope, the sister of one of the victims, told the </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-59641784" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">BBC</span></a></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> she understood from a conversation between her brother and parents that workers weren’t immediately told to shelter following the first warning siren. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Her brother, 29-year-old Clayton Cope, spoke to his family on the phone shortly before the building was struck, with his mother Carla saying she called to warn him of the approaching tornado.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We told him it looked like the storm was heading that way and that he needed to get to shelter,” Carla told NBC-affiliated television station KSDK.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Clayton, formerly trained in the Navy, told his mother that he would warn his coworkers before taking shelter.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Rachel has since taken to social media calling for publicity around the company’s approach to health and safety.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Everyone knows that this warehouse didn’t let everyone get to shelter after he [sic] first siren was heard,” she </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/12/13/torn-d13.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">wrote</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in a Facebook post.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Everyone knows that all Amazon cares about is productivity. My brother never would have died if this company actually gave 2 shits about their employees and got them to safety after the storm started to get bad and took it seriously…</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I want them to answer for this, I want this to be a starting point of places taking the lives of their employees seriously and treating them as more than a number. This never would have happened if they cared about lives over productivity and you all know that.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Another victim, father-of-four Larry Virden, reportedly texted his long-term girlfriend telling her the company wouldn’t let workers leave.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cherie Jones, his partner of 13 years, told </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Post</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> he had texted her at 8.23pm local time, with her messages sent at 8.51pm going unanswered.</span></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr">Horrifying details are emerging about the tornado disaster at Amazon's warehouse in Illinois, where at least 6 workers were killed on the job.<br /><br />Before he died, Larry Virden reportedly texted his girlfriend: "Amazon won’t let us leave." He leaves behind four children. <a href="https://t.co/3ZRLik9VIs">pic.twitter.com/3ZRLik9VIs</a></p>
— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/MorePerfectUS/status/1470513075489054720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 13, 2021</a></blockquote>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I got text messages from him. He always tells me when he is filling up the Amazon truck when he is getting ready to go back,” she </span><a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/dad-of-fours-last-text-16-minutes-before-death-in-amazon-warehouse-104740521.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">said</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. “I was like ‘OK, I love you’. He’s like, ‘well Amazon won’t let me leave until after the storm blows over’.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We heard the tornado didn’t touch down until 8.39 so he had 20 minutes to get home.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I messaged him and that was the last text message I got from him.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I told him where we live, it was only lightning at the time. After that, I got nothing from him.” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced it will </span><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/13/osha-opens-probe-into-deadly-amazon-warehouse-collapse-in-illinois.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">investigate the collapse</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Founder Jeff Bezos has also been the target of criticism after posting pictures of himself and his Blue Origin space crew following the incident.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He later issued a statement expressing his condolences to the families of the victims.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The news from Edwardsville is tragic. We’re heartbroken over the loss of our teammates there, and our thoughts and prayers are with their families and loved ones,” he wrote.</span></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr">(2/2) All of Edwardsville should know that the Amazon team is committed to supporting them and will be by their side through this crisis. We extend our fullest gratitude to all the incredible first responders who have worked so tirelessly at the site.</p>
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffBezos/status/1469849247042334721?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2021</a></blockquote>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Amazon has said it will donate $USD 1 million ($AUD 1.41 million or $NZD 1.48 million) to the Edwardsville Community Foundation, which represents 0.0000009 percent of the company’s earnings in </span><a href="https://techcrunch.com/2021/10/28/amazon-stock-falls-on-revenue-miss-rising-costs-due-to-macroeconomic-conditions/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Q3 2021</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The company has also said it will provide relief supplies such as transport, food and water.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Images: Getty Images</span></p>
