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30686 t1_jduywky wrote

850 people out of work.

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shakenbk t1_jdvl16c wrote

Sounds like employees were reporting to supervisors about the smell of gas and they were told it was fine, ignore it, and continue working.

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30686 t1_jdvmkhe wrote

Yup. Saw those reports. I sincerely hope that is not true, but we'll probably find out at some point. OSHA is certainly involved in the investigation.

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Dismal-Radish-7520 t1_jdwhtkj wrote

The local gas places were quoted as saying they had no notices from management about any gas leaks that day. Possibly could be a small bit of misinformation getting passed around in articles, but it did see that often when reading about it.

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bubblegoose t1_jdwwy6i wrote

Yeah, wasn't the local gas company, UGI, also notified about a gas leak many times before a house exploded in Pottstown, killing an entire family?

No one has been held accountable for that one yet.

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linkdudesmash t1_jdx5r39 wrote

I don’t think that cause was ever determined. The houses didn’t have gas service. From what I remember.

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HogwartsKate t1_jdyknbi wrote

I lived in Millmont area when an entire block blew up from a gas leak. No one had gas. It was the degraded underground pipes from heavy truck traffic creating a leak that fill an open space and leaked into basements. Guy comes home from work, inserts key in door, static of metal click or flip of light switch —-boom as he opened the door. Lost his entire family. UGI was called. Didnt find it in time. No boomer released any balloons. Balloons are so 1980s! Boomers taught us how to eat with a fork !

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curlsncats t1_jdvu9wj wrote

I’m eagerly awaiting the USCSB video on this disaster to hear how leadership fucked up

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Derpadoooo t1_jduznn4 wrote

If only our country had enough excess wealth to take care of these people so that being able to work isn't their main concern after an explosion killed 7 of their colleagues.

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flydog2 t1_jdv4je6 wrote

A union could help . . .

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underscore5000 t1_jdv7wki wrote

If only people werent brainwashed into thinking unions were bad and actively vote against their own interests.

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mrGeaRbOx t1_jdvefg6 wrote

Confirmation bias is not brainwashing. It's not like these people had a egalitarian beliefs to begin with. The propaganda is merely enabling their innate authoritarian tendencies.

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goplantagarden t1_jdvguzy wrote

They've been drinking from the same well their entire lives that's readily replenished by the ultra-wealthy.

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FancyRobot t1_jdvwufv wrote

Reading had union chocolate jobs, it was called Ludens... that factory's jobs were exported to China over a decade ago. The only chocolate factory to move out of the city. Woo unions

Edit: We're heading down the Reddit sinkhole, no counter arguments given but the narrative must still persist in all its purity, the down votes have begun to rain down. An entire town and its generational trauma from union jobs leaving simply cannot understand the brilliance of "just unionizing" from people who likely aren't employed. We're just sheeple!

−10

nalgene_wilder t1_jdw5uu5 wrote

Yeah that's definitely the fault of the union

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FancyRobot t1_jdw74x4 wrote

Left Reading in 2009, didn't hire a single new person since the early 90s, only temps when they needed it. Please tell me more about Ludens though! Almost my entire family worked there, thus I need a proper education from Reddit on the plant

−3

BigoofingSad t1_jdxozi5 wrote

That doesn't sound like a union problem. That sounds like a shit company that didn't want anymore union workers, then moved to china for the sake of profits. Unions are great for employees, bad for employers.

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MaybeADumbass t1_jdvc7c3 wrote

Why would we take care of people? That sounds socialism! /s

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crispydukes t1_jdvofdu wrote

Unless we're taking care of me!

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MaybeADumbass t1_jdvp6by wrote

Well that's different. Socialism is only bad when it before benefits other people.

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CltAltAcctDel t1_jdvgxhv wrote

They will be eligible for unemployment compensation.

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ronreadingpa t1_jdwfy04 wrote

Which pays about 1/2 of their normal wage. Assuming building 1 can be repaired quickly, might be a minor economic hit for workers. However, it seems inevitable that some workers will be let go.

My view is, the company should purchase the large building (assuming they don't own now) fronting Penn Ave, demolishing it all and build a new facility to replace building 2. It would provide better visibility of their presence (not really important, but a nice plus), more manufacturing capacity, and more jobs.

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bubblegoose t1_jdwx8qm wrote

If it turns out they really were notified by employees about a gas smell and did nothing about it, will there still be a company when this is over?

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VenomB t1_jdvi3h9 wrote

Shhh, don't talk about all of the actual support options they have to move forward. They must suffer so we can complain about it.

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blind_wisdom t1_jdw62dp wrote

People DIED. What the fuck, man? We have plenty to complain about.

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VenomB t1_jdw7i6a wrote

And we're talking about the people who are still alive and out of a job.

−3

blind_wisdom t1_jdwql3d wrote

Ok. Even then, they probably lost friends. Their life is likely going to have a dramatic change, at least to some degree. And they have a fuck ton to be angry about. None of this would have happened if they didn't.

Literally everybody should be 'complaining' right now.

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VenomB t1_jdwrmko wrote

>Literally everybody should be 'complaining' right now.

About what?

Because my comment is specifically about people complaining that these people are out of a job with 0 support available, which is ridiculous. It has nothing to do with your feelings or any one else's. Instead of actually looking into the choices they have to move forward, people would rather just complain that there are none while there are. That's the only thing I'm talking about.

So sure, complain. Just don't sound like a moron while ya do it.

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blind_wisdom t1_jdxz6er wrote

Ok. I get your point. It probably wasn't the best time to comment on the survivors' job prospects like op did.

However, I don't think that it's unreasonable to talk about that in other contexts. I'm sure people will look for resources. People don't just give up and go "guess I'll starve, then. But I'm gonna complain about it."

I think people who are complaining probably have experienced (or seen) unfair treatment of workers. They have a right to voice grievances.

1

SeptasLate t1_jdx15q2 wrote

There's ways to complain about this situation without using the tragedy for people to get on a soapbox about their preferred political issue.

Better workers/unemployment benefits are needed and important but we don't even know what unemployment/benefits the workers will have access to. People are fired up over a hypothetical.

1

BuddahSack t1_jdvxpaw wrote

But 7 new job openings...

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T_tessa41 t1_jdvz85h wrote

I appreciate the dark sense of humor…. Others may not. Maybe wait a week.

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radiowave911 t1_jdxe25x wrote

Sometimes that is needed to help with the overall tragedy. Doesn't really bother me, either. Of course, I am not local to Reading (60 - 90 minutes - depending on how I go). This may be seen in a whole different light (dark?) by those closer to West Reading.

2