Safety concerns | General Motors closes factory as Hurricane Helen approaches

General Motors closes factory as Hurricane Helen approaches

Worker welfare in the face of natural disasters is in the headlines again, after General Motors cancelled all shifts at its Flint plant in anticipation of the approaching Hurricane Helene - but not for safety reasons.

The car maker said the hurricane had impacted suppliers, and is working with them to resume operations as soon as possible. GM also temporarily halted production at its Arlington Assembly Plant in Texas.

More than 220 people were confirmed dead as the hurricane swept through the US Southeast. Officials expect the death toll to rise as recovery efforts continue.

The hurricane destroyed multiple communities, prompting President Biden to issue major disaster declarations for Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.

Workers in jeopardy

It's another development in the conversation around worker safety in the face of natural disasters, which has grown in recent weeks.

Just recently a Tennessee plastics factory saw several employees killed during Hurricane Helene, amid allegations that workers were initially prevented from leaving as conditions worsened.

Impact Plastics has confirmed multiple fatalities at its Erwin plant, including employees and a contractor, though exact numbers have not been disclosed.

Other employers have also been under the spotlight. An Amazon delivery driver in Michigan went viral on TikTok after continuing to deliver to an address while storm sirens were going off around her.

She was wearing headphones, however, that meant she was unaware of the sirens, but the weather conditions were already adverse with high winds and rain.

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It raised further questions about Amazon’s record on worker safety, after it was criticized in 2021 when a delivery driver in Illinois was warned she would be fired if she stopped delivering and returned to the warehouse during a storm siren.

Amazon said the dispatcher “should have immediately directed the driver to seek shelter” when they reported hearing the sirens and said that “under no circumstance should the dispatcher have threatened the driver’s employment.”

Back at the warehouse, however, six workers died when the tornado struck, raising questions over whether adequate shelter was available, whether workers were advised to go there immediately, and whether the shifts should have gone ahead that evening.

Following the incident, Amazon faced five separate lawsuits filed by surviving employees and families claiming negligence.

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