We all know the story. One-hundred ten years ago, in 1911, a fire flared up in a scrap bin at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in Greenwich Village, New York. One-hundred forty-six workers, mostly Jewish and Italian immigrants, some as young as 14, died that day, as a result of burning to death, smoke inhalation, or jumping out windows to escape.
Many of those deaths were preventable. They might have been able to escape were it not for the fact that the owners of the factory had locked the doors to the stairwell, to prevent workers from taking unauthorized bathroom breaks during the workday.
On Friday, six Amazon workers were killed and many others were injured when the company’s facility in Edwardsville, Illinois, collapsed after being hit by a deadly tornado. Similarly unsafe labor practices may be to blame.
The workers were required to come in and stay there despite the tornado warning. Employees say they were not allowed to have their phones on the floor — for fear they might decrease productivity — which meant they didn’t have any way of staying up to date on incoming disaster or preparing accordingly (Amazon denies this). The facility itself, despite being in an area known for having a high rate of tornados, did not have a basement where workers could take shelter until it passed. The best they could do was to hide in bathrooms.
In light of the fact that these conditions may have contributed to the casualties, Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) issued a statement on Saturday (at the time only two workers had been confirmed dead):
Time and time again Amazon puts its bottom line above the lives of its employees. Requiring workers to work through such a major tornado warning event as this was inexcusable. At least two workers will never be going home to their families, and countless others continue to be trapped beneath the rubble of the Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois. This is another outrageous example of the company putting profits over the health and safety of their workers, and we cannot stand for this. Amazon cannot continue to be let off the hook for putting hard working people’s lives at risk. Our union will not back down until Amazon is held accountable for these and so many more dangerous labor practices.
It took Amazon founder Jeff Bezos until 9 p.m. on Saturday to address the collapse and the deaths, as he was far too busy posting about his vanity trip to space on Instagram.
One of the Amazon workers killed in the collapse had actually been able to text his girlfriend, letting her know the company was not planning on letting them leave until the tornado was over. He would have had enough time to get home had they allowed him to.
i guess it’s only a crime against humanity that we can’t forget if the victims are WHITE.
I disagree that this is about whiteness - I’m not Jewish or Romani and I don’t want to speak for them, but I don’t think all the victims of the Holocaust would have been seen as white in Europe in the 40s (or indeed today).
I think the difference here is plain nationalism - Cameron thinks we should only remember the things that make Britain look good.
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