Former tower climber Tommy Schuch has formed the Climber Protection Group (CPG), a not-for-profit organization focused on unifying, protecting and advocating for the tower technician workforce.
Officially launched on the first of the month, the Illinois-based group provides a spread of resources to climbing communities across the U.S. — from anonymous reporting of workplace issues and hazards to educational interviews and reports.
“One of the main goals is to give climbers a voice, advocate and educate and be a central location for all climbers to come to get any information that they might need,” Schuch told Broadband Nation.
Alongside Schuch, longtime industry veteran Richard Bell and Dr. Bridgette M. Hester serve on the board of directors for CPG. Hester, who lost her husband in a tower climbing accident in 2010, also founded the Hubble Foundation — a nonprofit which helped provide financial and emotional support for numerous families affected by tower-climber injuries and fatalities until closing in 2022.
Though not currently a recognized 501(c)(3), CPG intends to seek tax-exempt status in the future. Eventually, it plans to arm itself as a 501(c)(4) and pursue lobbying and legal advocacy, according to Schuch.
But as it stands, the focus remains on awareness and gathering tower climbing communities from around the country. Membership is free, and contributions are completely optional.
“I think one of the biggest hurdles is getting the tower climbers to come together in one place,” said Schuch.
Reform for a history of safety oversights
Tower work has long been one of the most dangerous jobs in telecommunications — shadowed by a history of subcontracted labor with minimal oversight and lives lost on the job, far from public view.
As detailed in our earlier reporting, safety failures went unaddressed for many years. Despite a decrease in on-the-job fatalities in the last decade, no real momentum for union representation emerged, and safety priorities can dangerously vary based on the employer.
While online resource groups through Facebook and Reddit exist, Schuch argues there remains a lack of centralized help for the boots on (or off) the ground.
Schuch — who witnessed these environments firsthand for years and later reported on them as a documentary film maker — formed CPG in hopes of consolidating support for these uneven experiences.
“I want to put all the information into the climbers' hands to level the playing field, essentially,” he detailed, "so they can make educated decisions on getting onto a tower that might not be safe or putting themselves in situations for companies maybe they otherwise shouldn't because they're under a deadline... We need to kind of get rid of that mentality within the culture, because that, in and of itself, is the cause of a lot of these accidents."
A big component of that comes down to anonymous reporting — a key CPG feature aiming to provide means to flag issues like hazardous conditions, company negligence or misconduct, without fear of retaliation.
Related
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) — one clear public destination for support — has been more attentive to the industry’s oversight failures since 2014. But recent changes to OSHA leadership and cuts at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) pose risks to ongoing accountability in such an unorganized sector of the industry.
Having advocated for climber safety for years, Schuch plans to stick around and grow a resource that techs can turn to when other systems fall short.
“This is just the beginning,” he concluded. “We’re working toward a long-term solution that not only protects whistleblowers but also helps hold the industry accountable and drive real improvements in safety.”
This story was originally published on Broadband Nation's Learning Center, Fierce Network's sister publication.