A statewide coalition of faith, labor and service organizations is pressuring Gov. Bill Lee and Tennessee lawmakers to pass stricter worker safety laws after at least five employees of Impact Plastics in Erwin were killed in the catastrophic flooding that engulfed East Tennessee in late September.
Workers allege company managers wouldn’t let employees at its Erwin plant leave until it was too late. Five died and one is missing . Impact Plastics leaders deny they held employees at the plant. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the state Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating.
Tennessee For All, a statewide coalition, released a statement Oct. 14 and launched a petition demanding Lee and the state legislature pass new laws to help prevent another disaster.
“As concerned citizens, we have to do more than talk, we have to act and make our voices heard. There are clear steps that can be taken to make safer workplaces for Tennesseans,” Scott Arnwine, president of the Knoxville-Oak Ridge Central Labor Council, said in a statement.