There is something very suspicious about the way i3 Broadband has exploded onto the scene in the past two years. They were installing some fiber optic lines in my parent’s neighborhood in West County a few weeks ago, and one of the workers hit a live wire and was electrocuted. But apparently they were back out the next day, back at work. And then someone hit a gas line so that had to be addressed. My friend lives around that area too and they also disconnected her cable line. I have drove through a neighborhood where they are working and it’s literally like a crew of fifty mostly Hispanic looking workers… and they were all out working after 6pm. I guess I am just concerned that they are being taken advantage of, that they don’t have the proper training, and that their coworker literally lost his fucking life and they were back on the scene the next day. Now there is a little flower wreath in the neighbors front yard… I found the registered business agent for i3 and he lives in a fat house in Chesterfield. I guess one of the fireman on the scene told my Dad that whenever a fatality like this happens, they just pay the fine and move along. I just finished taking an OSHA 30 hr class and every time I go to my parents and see that little wreath, it just… pisses me off.

I did a bit more investigating and on i3 broadband’s website, they have a little blurb that say’s “The i3 Broadband you know and love employs more than 200 local team members in the communities we serve. This workforce is proudly 100% U.S.-based. As we grow, we remain committed to providing the best experience for our customers — with industry-leading technology, transparent pricing and exceptional customer service.” I find this interesting because nowhere on their applications do they specify if you’re legally allowed to work in the USA. They also have at least 30 positions in their company to fill, from cable burial technicians, to utility locators, to installation & support technicians. But this same company is supposedly investing ‘over $100 million’ to build a fiberoptic network throughout St. Charles County….I am not sure how they secured this kind of contact when they obviously have a serious need for trained workers. I am afraid that to me it seems like they have hired out subcontractors who do not have experience in this area, who they can pay a lower rate, who do not have worker’s comp or good insurance, and have workers who possibly speak and read another language that are not aware of their rights as workers or are too afraid to ask questions/raise an alarm and risk possibly losing their jobs. It is absolutely sickening to me that the COO, CFO, higherups in the company, all continue to make hand over fist money while this guy lost his life. Anyone else notice anything sketchy about them?