Mother of Worker Killed in Tornado Pushes for Safety Reform

Climate & Comp

Edwardsville, IL (WorkersCompensation.com) – As tornado season approaches, the mother of an Amazon warehouse worker is pushing state legislators to tackle safety reforms.

Clayton Cope was 29 when he was killed at the Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Ill. On Dec. 10, 2021, a tornado struck the warehouse killing Cope and five others in the workplace. The Madison County Emergency Management agency said the EF-3 tornado ripped through the warehouse’s delivery station that night.

Carla Cope, his mother, continues to work with state legislators to reform building standards. She said she is fighting for change to help warehouse workers.

"It gives us some way to honor our son as well, and all those who died that night," Cope said. "It was a huge loss for us to lose our son, and we just don't want anyone else to have to go through that. It should just be common sense to try to protect the people that you have employed."

Carla Cope said she wants to see stronger workplace safety measures and has been pushing for clear emergency plans, distinct alarm systems and regular safety drills.

"I don't feel like what we're asking is much, just to ensure that everyone is safe and that everyone feels safe," Cope said. "Still pushing forward on the legislature. The task force came to an end at the end of December. We presented our recommendations to the governor in January."

Amazon reopened the delivery station in 2024 without a storm shelter, officials said. Amazon doesn’t own the building but said it has improved its safety procedure and will continue to review protocols.

"The safety of our employees and partners is our top priority, and we have robust procedures in place to address extreme weather. Every day, our central operations team – which includes meteorologists – assesses potential weather impacts on our network while always putting safety first," Amazon Spokesperson Steve Kelly said in a statement. "At our operations facilities, we have comprehensive global emergency response protocols, training, and drills for all employees and partners. Everyone who visits our Edwardsville delivery station is issued a badge card – which includes a detailed map that notes where severe weather assembly areas are and other related guidance. We continue to be grateful to our local team and for the support of the Edwardsville community as we’ve resumed operations at this facility.

Cope said whether those changes are in place is unclear.

"Which sounds great, but we don't know if they actually have those in place or not," said Cope.

What she wants is storm shelters in all Illinois warehouses.

Clayton Cope’s death happened on a night that saw a tornado outbreak that stretched across four states between Dec. 10 and 11, 2021. The three tornados killed 89 people, 74 from Kentucky alone. In addition, more than 670 people were injured, and the four-state area saw at least $3.9 billion in damages.

In Kentucky, the tornados intensified to EF4 and hit Mayfield, Ky. After destroying much of the downtown commercial district, the tornado headed toward the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory where about 110 people were left trapped. When the tornado hit the facility, it flattened the building. Eight employees were killed, and several others were injured. Workers alleged that they were threatened with their jobs if they left the factory to seek shelter.

“I asked to leave, and they told me I’d be fired,” Elijah Johnson, one of the factory’s employees, said at the time. “Even with the weather like this, you’re still going to fire me?”

Another employee said they were told to go into a hallway.

"We should have been able to leave,” Mark Saxton, a Mayfield employee, told NBC News. “The first warning came, and they just had us go in the hallway. After the warning, they had us go back to work. They never offered us to go home.”

Mayfield Consumer Products denied the allegations.

“It’s absolutely untrue,” Bob Ferguson, a company spokesperson, told NBC News. “We’ve had a policy in place since Covid began. Employees can leave any time they want to leave, and they can come back the next day.”

Three years later, several lawsuits are still pending against Mayfield Consumer Products, including one filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that the company is retaliating against former employees who cooperated with an OSHA investigation. OSHA fined the company $40,000 for violating federal labor law. Attorneys said the company cut workers’ compensation benefits for the employees who cooperated with the investigation.

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