Congresswoman Bush Statement on One-Year Anniversary of Edwardsville Amazon Warehouse Tragedy
St. Louis, Mo. (Dec. 10, 2022) — Congresswoman Cori Bush (MO-01) released the following statement in recognition of the tragic one-year anniversary since six workers were killed at an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, IL after they were forced to work through a tornado. Deandre S. Morrow, Etheria Hebb, Austin McEwen, Clayton Lynn Cope, Larry Virden, and Kevin Dickey are the names of the six victims who were killed during this tragedy on December 10, 2021.
“Today marks the one-year anniversary of the Amazon warehouse tragedy in Edwardsville, which claimed the lives of two of my constituents - Deandre S. Morrow and Etheria Hebb – as well as four more of their coworkers - Austin McEwen, Clayton Lynn Cope, Larry Virden, and Kevin Dickey - after they were all forced to work during a tornado. This gut-wrenching loss was completely preventable. The safety of our workers, especially our most marginalized workers, should always come first. That is why over the past year, I have made it one of my priorities to prevent tragedies like this from ever happening again. I launched an investigation with the House Oversight Committee and introduced two bills that would ensure our workers are protected in climate disasters or extreme weather. I want every worker to know that I will continue to fight for their dignity, safety, and security in the workplace, including during climate disasters. Even as the climate crisis rages on and disasters become more and more frequent, we cannot allow a repeat of what happened in Edwardsville one year ago. All our workers deserve better protection and care than what Amazon provided that day.”
In December 2021, directly after this tragic event, Congresswoman Bush led a letter with Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) demanding answers from Amazon’s Executive Chairman, Jeff Bezos, and its President and CEO, Andy Jassy about the circumstances that led to the death of six employees. In March 2022, the Congresswoman, alongside Representatives Ocasi0-Cortez and Carolyn Maloney (NY-12), Chairwoman of the House Oversight Committee, officially launched an oversight investigation into Amazon’s labor practices. In September, Congresswoman Bush introduced two bills in response to this tragedy - the Workers Safety in Climate Disaster Act, which would prevent workers from being fired for seeking shelter during disasters and offer paid time off for workers affected by those disasters, and the Wind Safety Standard Act, which would require the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) to create a Wind Safety Standard modeled after the Heat Safety Standard to protect workers put in danger in the workplace by high wind conditions.