'Just Keep Driving,' Amazon Dispatcher Told Driver During Tornado

Chicago IL

17 December, 2021

3:01 PM

Description

EDWARDSVILLE, IL — "Tornado alarms are going off over here," an Amazon delivery driver texted her supervisor Dec. 10, about an hour before a tornado killed six of her coworkers at the warehouse where she worked. "Just keep delivering for now," the supervisor told her, according to text messages obtained by Bloomberg News. "We have to wait for word from Amazon. If we need to bring people back, the decision will ultimately be up to them. I will let you know if the situation changes at all. I'm talking with them now about it." When the driver objected, even at one point worrying that the delivery van could become her casket, the supervisor threatened her job. Read the full texts at Bloomberg. The supervisor finally told her to "shelter in place" — but only after the tornado began to strike the Edwardsville warehouse, where another delivery driver — 46-year-old Larry Virden — had just texted his girlfriend, "Amazon won't let us leave." He was killed as the building — which had no storm shelter — collapsed on top of him. Jessica Chromy, an Amazon spokesperson, credited "leaders on the ground [who] followed their training and moved quickly" with saving "many lives from this storm." The supervisor's text messages directly contradict that claim. Like the unnamed supervisor, another Amazon official, Max Gleber, also appeared to disregard the dozens of weather alerts leading up to the storm, telling Patch on Monday there was "too much emphasis on tornado watches."