UAW helps Rivian workers report safety woes

NORMAL - A dozen Rivian workers in recent months have accused the EV automaker of safety violations, according to complaints filed with the U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration.

The workers filed their complaints in coordination with the United Auto Workers union, which has been stepping up efforts to help workers organize Rivian.

The complaints allege the company ignored hazards and de-emphasized safety resources, and cite a range of health issues including broken bones, ear damage and environmental factors that could be connected to a miscarriage.

The safety problems could stem from management neglecting standards to meet increased demands to produce more of its pickup truck.

“At first, it was really great,” former UAW member Kailey Harvey told Bloomberg News.

“Slowly, as production kept climbing, the concern for safety dropped,” said Harvey, who started at Rivian last year.

Rivian said data it provides OSHA show it outperforms comparable facilities in health and safety, with a Total Recordable Incident Rate of 2.5 cases for every 200,000 hours worked. That’s less than the industry average of 6.4 cases, according to the company, which in a statement said, “We do not comment on open agency cases nor on any situation that has any potential pending litigation.”

OSHA is still investigating seven complaints at the Normal plant, an agency spokesperson told Bloomberg. The agency previously issued four “serious” citations against Rivian, including three that ended in settlements with the agency.

In February, a battery-pack explosion caused a fire with 10-foot-high flames, according to Harvey’s complaint.

“I witnessed a person pull the fire alarm and nothing happened,” she wrote.

After evacuating, employees were told to return to work through the smoke for a head count.

“People were coughing and at least one worker had an asthma attack while walking through the smoke,” she wrote, adding that since the fire “no drills or follow-up training have been held” for her shift about where to go in similar emergencies.

Workers’ claims “suggest a factory that is far from operational excellence,” said David Michaels, who led OSHA under former President Barack Obama and is now a professor at George Washington University’s public health school.

“If workers are being hurt, it is evidence that the factory management is not doing its job in ensuring that operations are being performed properly,” he continued. “These reported injuries reflect poor management control of production processes, suggesting that the quality of the factory’s output will also be suboptimal.”