Warehouse Safety Standards Task Force Announced
Date Posted: February 14, 2023
Posted In: News,
From St. Louis/Southern Illinois Labor Tribune: A new task force focused on worker safety will begin work in Illinois following the deadly collapse of an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville during a tornado.
State Reps. Katie Stuart (D-Edwardsville) and Jay Hoffman (D-Swansea) led an initiative to create a Warehouse Safety Standards Task Force, which will develop recommendations to make warehouses and similar workplaces safer in the future.
An EF-3 tornado struck the Amazon warehouse on Dec. 10, 2021, and there were no storm shelters to protect the workers. The walls and roof collapsed under 150 mph winds, and six workers ranging in age from 26 to 62 were killed. Five of the six workers were independent contractors sheltering in a bathroom on the south side near the loading dock.
“Everyone should have the right to a safe and healthy working environment and to return home unharmed at the end of each shift,” Stuart said. “However, recent events have shown that more is required to ensure that warehouse workers are not subjected to avoidable hazards and that their employers are held accountable for meeting acceptable standards of health and safety.”
That’s why they created the task force, Stuart said.
IMPROVE THE SAFETY OF WORKERS
“I’m hopeful that by closely studying the issues unique to the warehouse industry, we can improve the safety of workers, reduce injuries and potentially save lives,” she said.
Hoffman pointed out that Illinois has seen a lot of warehouse development in recent years, and leaders need to make sure they are safe workplaces. Amazon’s replacement warehouse is under construction and allegedly has no additional shelters or safety features to distinguish it from the previous warehouse.
“The tragedy at the Amazon warehouse was a devastating moment for our community, and those who were impacted remain in our thoughts,” Hoffman said. “It’s our responsibility to thoroughly review what happened and take action to ensure something like this doesn’t happen again.”