FRONTLINE and ProPublica explored the hazardous work of independent contractors who built and serviced America’s cellular infrastructure as it expanded. (Aired 2012)
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The smartphone revolution came with a hidden cost. Tower climbers install and service cell phone antennas, ascending hundreds, sometimes more than a thousand feet. Nearly 100 climbers were killed on radio, TV and cell towers in the decade before the documentary was released — a rate that at the time was about 10 times the average for construction workers. Reporters at FRONTLINE and ProPublica investigated 50 cell-related deaths in this 2012 documentary.
While some cell phone tower climbers said they were under pressure to cut corners, layers of subcontracting made it difficult for safety inspectors to determine fault when a tower worker was killed or injured.
“Cell Tower Deaths” was a FRONTLINE production with RAIN Media, Inc., in partnership with ProPublica. The documentary was written and produced by Travis Fox. Martin Smith was senior producer and correspondent. Reporting was by FRONTLINE’s Ryan Knutson and ProPublica’s Liz Day. The series senior producer for FRONTLINE in 2012 was Raney Aronson-Rath. The executive producer of FRONTLINE was David Fanning.
Explore additional reporting on “Cell Tower Deaths” on our website:
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/cell-tower-deaths/
#Documentary #CellPhones #WorkplaceSafety
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Additional funding is provided by the Abrams Foundation; the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Park Foundation; the Heising-Simons Foundation; and the FRONTLINE Journalism Fund with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation, and additional support from Koo and Patricia Yuen.
CHAPTERS:
High Rate of Deaths for Tower Climbers – 00:00
“Free Climbing” Cell Phone Towers, Contractors & Workplace Safety – 5:35
3G & Smartphones Lead to Rush to Upgrade Cell Phone Towers – 11:51
“Money Versus Safety” in Cell Phone Tower Industry – 20:35
Credits – 30:28
source
In 2014, two years after this documentary originally aired, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said it would begin systematically tracking which companies subcontractors were working for when accidents occurred on cell tower sites.
For more, visit our website: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/feds-to-look-harder-at-cell-carriers-when-tower-climbers-die/
Companies should be held accountable for going out of their way to hire for cheap, unqualified labor when they're perfectly capable of paying someone better to work for them. It's all about greed and profits over people these days.
So you want to climb cell towers
Time is money it's said. Young men's life is at risk at the expense of their families having to go on without them. Such an unnecessary way for a young person to die. Until the right people are held accountable these things will happen.
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Paying $10/hour to climb cell towers in 2008? 😢The level of exploitation. This should have been a union job.
$10 per hour to climb a 300 ft tower without safety hardware? This is a isolated incident but overall, companies put greed first and safety last. I worked for a large home improvement store. When putting away stock, boxes would have "2 man lift" printed on them. Due to minimal staffing, a great deal of time would be taken trying to find another associate to assist you in lifting. I just lifted the box by myself. When I was injured, I was terminated. They said the box clearly stated 2 man lift and they weren't responsible.
The earth definitely look flat to me.
Generally, Until a worker is in trouble for something OTHER than safety and health, OSHA never hears from them…it’s exasperating trying to save people from themselves….
You do not need a tower over 1,000 or 1,500 feet high. Only a fall of 20 feet or less can and will kill me
or you.
I can see the climbing discipline these climber have to always be clipped in with at least 1 clip / hook.
I can see it may be the guys that miss one clip in that may fall.
This is why I am a hiker and not a mountain climber. The worse are the free climbers. Most eventually fall,
everyone says it is tragic and so do I.
Having worked in the telephone industry for general telephone for years, I can tell you at least part of the problem is the fact that they don't want to hire any union employees that Union wages and they pack the place with as many contractors as they can because they can fire them and a heartbeat where they can't do that with our employees of their own. So I don't believe they've hired any hourly employees into the union and years except for a certain highly technical positions and they continue to rely on contractors, which of course they don't care about
Hello
Time is money.
Greed eats Workers life ?
I'm thinking about people painting the Eifel Tower ! Frightening.
They should get parachutes and parachute training for these
Thank you men for your work. Unfortunately the government is radicalizing its own citizens against each other through that same cell service. If they didn't, we would have too much time to focus on their crimes.
Does OSHA still allow for free climbing? I have to go to bed I can't watch the vid.
And now we have 5G… oops
Job like this should be paid at least $50 per hour.
I lost my son
I had no idea.
should I pursue this job interest in 2025?
OMG! That's SO HARD to watch that guy up on the tower! Yikes!!!
This is why all climbers need to form a union!
If you are all in it, then nothing gets done without you!
Also what are all these sub contractors, that doesn’t do anything other than tell another subcontractor what to do!
A waste of money
I'd have at least 5 safety lines and 2 harnesses. You could never pay me enough.
Proverbs 16:18
“Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”
John 3:3
“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
$10 a hour? That crazy work for $10 per hr? I made $10 per hour mowing lawns when i was 12…wtf?!?!?!?
So in other words a turf vendor is pretty much a recruitment agency that go and look for sub contractors once that recruiter finds a contractor to do the job the recruiter gets a cut of the contractors money. rip off! From my experience working in Australia never ever work for a recruitment agency!
I know many tower climbers who install 5g at the same time and make $125 an hour
With all the technology they have why couldn't they all have a elevator system installed to take them up & down the towers??
What about the effects of cell tower radiation on the brain? They got their faces right up against the transmitters. That could influence a fall.
Race to the bottom. Legit
@14:40 show this to anyone who claims tower climbers make $100k+ a year.
The world was a Much Better Place before mobile phones ..
Lol such a misleading documentary. "More deaths than construction workers". You mean people who paint walls? People who install doors? People who install floors? People who install pavers? Cell tower workers have less deaths per thousand workers than roofers. Less than linemen, too. You know the people who work at deadly heights AND with high voltage electricity? Cell tower workers are not dying at extraordinary rates. Not even a hundred? lol definitely worth making a documentary about it… 🙄🙄
29:54 and when you stand up for yourself they create an agenda against you and fire you
I climbed a radio tower it’s easy but I also climbed off the side of one and that’s hell
Young is ok!
Fearless is not, its reckless. 😢😢
OHH NOOOO……You are tellin me that americans want shit done yesterday……OHH NOOOO!!!……HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
I don’t care what people say you’re in charge of your own safety. If you think it’s not safe you don’t have to do it.
My dad did the thousand footers for half a decade. Then he went on to the 200, 300 footers.
I tell everyone who asks about my dad that he has one of the most extraordinary jobs you've ever heard of.. he climbs for a living and right now? It's one of the most important jobs in the world. He makes our phones work. He's fallen, 20 feet. Got back up in six months and went right back at it. The old men you see in this industry here? You respect them. Why? Because usually they hold the most experience and been through it enough. Especially in an industry where most men are young and either leave the job or die young. Ny pops takes safety over anything and hates fuck ups. Most of these guys? They leave home for a mo th or two at a time, only seeing their family every so often, usually a week.