Digging around on the Internets last night, I found this PBS Frontline piece on cell tower deaths. It seems that AT&T and other service providers have been pushing tower subcontractors to work harder, faster, and cheaper – with the result that workers are dying.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/cell-tower-deaths/
As if that's not bad enough, the perpetrators will not own up to their responsibility. They claim that worker deaths are the subcontractors' problem, not theirs. But it's nearly impossible to put the finger on subcontractors, as the investigation shows. Meanwhile, an emasculated OSHA sits on its thumbs.
This report lays out in black and white why we need to rein in corporate power and make corporations accountable for the harm they do. And when I say this, I'm not forgetting for a second that profit-hungry stockholders and bargain-hunting consumers share a measure of blame, too. But still, the specific decisions that led to these deaths were made by corporate managers, so clearly they (and the corporations they serve) have the highest level of culpability.
Image: http://roominate.com/blogg/peace/cell_tower.jpg
Reach out and kill someone.
westseattleblog
West Seattle Blog
West Seattle Blog
