When Cell Tower Workers Die, OSHA Now Tracks Which Telecom Sent Them Up

(The Joy Of The Mundane)

Almost two years ago, ProPublica and Frontline investigated the deaths of tower climbers, the brave souls who scale cell towers so that we can make emergency phone calls on the highway and stream Netflix in our dentists’ waiting rooms. Nineteen climbers have died on the job since the beginning of 2013, and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is finally assigning blame to the telecoms.

The people scaling towers for mobile carriers aren’t employees of those companies. Work on towers goes to subcontractors, distancing consumer-facing mobile carriers from public outrage. Companies spent 2013 performing huge upgrades, though, especially Sprint. Our tipline has been full of complaints from Sprint customers about promised upgrades and poor coverage, but things look different from the climbers’ point of view. They’re encouraged to work so fast that they may not be taking proper safety precautions.

Feds to Look Harder at Cell Carriers When Tower Climbers Die [ProPublica]

Letter to Communication Tower Industry Employers [OSHA]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist