Telecom News: Safety, Training Key as CWA Fights To Prevent Electrocution Deaths

Electrocution accidents have left three Verizon technicians dead and another seriously injured in recent months; incidents that have CWA calling for stronger safety policies, more training for employees doing the dangerous work and provision of proper tools and equipment.

Marvin Benson, a member of CWA Local 2100, was the latest technician killed. He died on a jobsite near Maryland's Baltimore-Washington Airport on Oct. 16 when he made contact with electrical wires on a shared utility pole.

District 2 Vice President Pete Catucci said Benson's death "is a terrible tragedy that must not be repeated. While we don't know precisely what caused it, we will be sitting down with the company to discuss a variety of safety and training issues."

Les Evans, president of neighboring Local 2108 in Landover, Md.,  said members' emotions "are running very high" since Benson died. In a column in his local's newsletter, he said Verizon needs to reconsider how much emphasis it's placed on productivity.

"While supervisors and managers like the ones Marvin worked for still have an understanding of the importance of safety, they are at the end of the chain of command," he said, explaining that safety precautions need to be taken just as seriously at the top levels.

Recalling his days as a cable splicing technician, he said, "I never had a management person at any level come out to my jobsite unless they had on their hardhat and safety shoes. You just don't see that type of commitment from the top anymore, and that sends the wrong message."

Benson's accident is still under review by Maryland's Occupational Safety and Health department, as well as by Verizon. Local 2100 Executive Vice President Mark Balsamo went to the site with company investigators and is monitoring their probe.

In June, an IBEW member working for Verizon was killed in an accident similar to Benson's in Rhode Island.

In May, a CWA member in Elkhart, Ind., 35-year-old Brent Cheney, was electrocuted while working on the office mainframe trying to detect a customer's cable problem. Local 4773 President Ed Lowdenslager reported at the 2006 convention that worn and broken cable insulation was a factor in the accident.  Convention delegates took up a collection for Cheney's family.

CWA Safety and Health Director Dave LeGrande has been collecting information about all incidents, from injuries and fatalities to near misses. Among other actions, his office is preparing a fact sheet for all telecom locals that detail the accidents and safety hazards.

In California, where many close calls have been reported among AT&T members, CWA submitted recommendations to the State's Public Utilities Commission for safety regarding the placement of wireless antennas on the state's utility poles shared by telephone and electric companies.

An administrative law judge hired by the state PUC to review rules on pole safety accepted all of CWA's recommendations. Members of CWA Locals 9400, 9404, 9410, 9412, 9415, 9417, 9421, 9423, 9431, 9503, 9509 and 9511 — with assistance from District 9 and the union's Safety and Health Department — testified at the PUC hearings.