PCCA Journal|4
th
Quarter 2014
26
Safety News
K
athy Pierce expected her son, Chad Weller,
to come home on March 19, at the end of
his shift as a cell tower climber. But Weller,
always ready with a smile for his mother,
never came back. He was sent up alone to
fix a communication signal on top of a water tower in the
rain while wearing a harness two sizes too big, and he lost
his life in a fatal fall. Chad Weller is one of 11 workers who
have lost their lives in 2014 while constructing or repairing
cell towers. Thirteen died in the previous year, including
Bridgette Hester’s husband, who was killed as he worked on
a tower that was struck by a vehicle and collapsed.
Kathy Pierce and Bridgette Hester joined the U.S. Depart-
ment of Labor, the Federal Communications Commission,
and leaders in the telecommunications industry at an event
in October focused on new and continuing efforts to prevent
worker fatalities on cell towers. Labor Secretary Thomas
Perez and FCC Chairman Thomas Wheeler spoke at the event
to announce a new working group that will collaborate in
the development and implementation of recommended safety
practices for the growing telecommunications industry.
“The cellphones in our pockets can’t come at the cost of a
worker’s life,” Perez said. “The cell tower industry might be
small, with 10,000 to 15,000 workers, but it’s quickly proving
to be one of the most dangerous. If we don’t do something
now, the number of fatalities is going to grow as fast as the
industry does. We know we can’t solve this problem alone
though, and that’s why I am so glad to be joined in partner-
ship on this issue with the FCC and major carriers like AT&T.
It’s a perfect example of federal agencies and industry break-
ing down barriers and identifying common goals to save
workers’ lives.”
The event featured a morning workshop led by OSHA,
comprised of two panel discussions featuring representatives
from OSHA, the FCC, AT&T, and the National Association of
Tower Erectors. The first panel discussed the root causes of
the high fatality and injury rates, while the second explored
solutions. During the discussions, OSHA shared steps taken
to curb these injuries and fatalities, including public outreach
and enforcement, as well as the agency’s emphasis on worker
training.
“The fatality rate in this industry is extraordinarily high—
tower workers are more than 10 times as likely to be killed on
the job as construction workers,” said OSHA head Dr. David
Michaels. “But these deaths are preventable. OSHA has devel-
oped a comprehensive initiative to ensure that safer working
conditions and best practices are not just recommendations,
but the law of the land. We look forward to the help FCC and
industry can provide in making this a reality.”
Following OSHA’s workshop, the group participated in a
signing ceremony for the new apprenticeship program. It
was spearheaded by the telecommunications industry, with
the advice and assistance from the Department of Labor, and
it aims to provide high-quality skills and safety training for
telecommunication tower technicians.
For more information on worker safety on the communica-
tion towers, visit OSHA’s web page at
www.osha.gov/doc/topics/communicationtower. This article was provided by the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Labor Department and FCC
Announce Cell Tower Safety Effort
Survey Links Compulsion and Phone Use
I
f the ring, beep, or buzz of your
cellphone triggers an intense urge
to respond and you find yourself
reaching for the phone—even
when you’re driving—you’re not alone.
A new survey commissioned by AT&T
and Dr. David Greenfield, founder of The
Center for Internet and Technology Ad-
diction and Assistant Clinical Professor
of Psychiatry at the University of Con-
necticut School of Medicine, found that
twice as many people as self-reported
cellphone addiction are showing compul-
sive phone behaviors, with three-in-four
people admitting to at least glancing at
their phones while behind the wheel.
“We compulsively check our phones
because every time we get an update
through text, email, or social media, we
experience an elevation of dopamine,
which is a neurochemical in the brain