The head of a major workers' union said that Amazon should not have had staff working at the Illinois warehouse when the roof collapsed.
At least six workers were killed when the roof of the facility fell. Extreme weather events were blamed for the collapse.
Amazon puts its bottom line above the lives of its employees. The president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union said that requiring workers to work through a tornado warning was not right.
This is another example of the company putting profits over the health and safety of their workers, and we can't stand for it. Amazon has been let off the hook for putting people's lives at risk. Our union will not back down until Amazon is held accountable for its labor practices.
When a site is made aware of a tornado warning, all employees are told to move to a shelter, but Amazon refused to answer when asked by the AP.
The shift change was underway when the collapse took place, according to James Whiteford.
When contacted by Insider, Amazon did not respond immediately.
The RWDSU was involved in an effort to unionize a warehouse.
The National Labor Relations Board ordered a second election for workers in the warehouse after they voted against forming a union.
The staff at Amazon were working during the severe weather events in Arkansas, Illinois, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Missouri. Kentucky Gov. Beshear said he fears over 50 workers at a candle factory may have been killed by the tornado.
