New tree show on TLC tonight

[Bigus Termitius]

TCIA and ISA call on TLC Network to Pull “Saw for Hire” Program Off the Air

January 23, 2009

Mr. David M. Zaslav
President and CEO
Discovery Communications
One Discovery Place Silver Spring, MD 20910

Dear Mr. Zaslav:

I would like to call your attention to a dangerous and unprofessional depiction of commercial tree care operations in the TLC program “Saw for Hire.”

Tree care is one of the five most hazardous professions in the country, according to independent research. Fatalities are all too common, and serious injuries occur daily. To advance safety, respected arborists are hard at work with associations, professional societies, certification organizations and government at all levels to reduce the accident and fatality rates among workers in the trees. Your program undermines all of those efforts, and it defames thousands of professional arborists in the U.S. who will not compromise their ethics, their integrity and the very safety of themselves and their co-workers for the sake of sensationalism.

Commercial arboriculture is subject to a variety of Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards. Judging from your program and the footage available at http://nosakraw.com, the arborists at Nosak Tree Service are either unaware of, or choose to ignore, these safety requirements.

The Tree Care Industry Association represents approximately 2,000 businesses engaged in commercial tree care in the United States. Since 1938, the association has worked to promote and uphold the highest standards of safe and professional conduct, including creating a Certified Treecare Safety Professional program and accrediting tree care companies so consumers know how to hire qualified companies.

In addition, the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) represents over 30,000 professional and Certified Arborists around the world. Founded in 1924, ISA promotes the professional practice of arboriculture including administering the Certified Arborist credential program. Through its position as the Secretariat of the ANSI Accredited Standards Committee Z-133 Safety Standards for Arboricultural Practices, ISA also works to promote high safety standards within the industry.

Our organizations are concerned that “Saw for Hire” glorifies unsafe and otherwise unprofessional conduct that, if used as an example in the field, quite simply puts lives at risk – both arborists and the consumers who hire them. The violations are numerous and egregious. They are not simply small, technical violations of industry safety practices but life-threatening acts that repeatedly and consistently show a lack of knowledge of the basics of safe tree care operations.

Discovery Communications claims it is committed to managing its business activities in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations and to ensuring honest and ethical behavior by its directors, officers, employees and contingent workers. “Saw for Hire” is a constant, ongoing violation of state, federal and industry professional standards and safety practices. In broadcasting this program, your network is complicit in the promotion of the unprofessional and unsafe practices of this company – practices that lead to injuries and fatalities in the tree care industry on a weekly basis.

Discovery Communications cannot be expected to know all of the safety regulations and best practices requirements that govern commercial arboriculture. Now that you have been made aware of the critically dangerous nature of the broadcast by your network, however, we ask that this program be taken off the air immediately for the benefit of consumers and arborists.

The tree care industry is ranked among the most dangerous professions in the United States. Employees in the tree care industry are often exposed to extreme hazards that must be met with an equally extreme commitment to safety. There are thousands of professional, safe and legally compliant tree care companies in the United States that could provide safe and professional examples of commercial arboriculture. It is in the spirit of cooperation, not confrontation, that we ask for your timely response.

Respectfully,

Cynthia Mills, CAE, CMC Jim Skiera, CAE
President & CEO Executive Director
Tree Care Industry Association International Society of Arboriculture

Thank you Cynthia Mills!

I recall seeing "No Sack" roaming the fairgrounds in Gonzales, LA. during Gustav. I was amazed to see that he was still alive, not to mention still in business.

Mr. NOSACK, we know it's not about the money with you, obviously, but that it's all about you, and your misson to "save" people from trees.

Your efforts beg the question: "Who then will save us all from you?"

Quit your day job.

 

[tree MDS]

BB1, did you catch the part about josh's arm getting mashed on the big sycamore when the crane came up?? Remember what I said about getting smeared along the trunk like a bug?? You have to admit that was pretty bad - bad enough to warrant getting rid of the show imho.

 

[woodchux]

I thought that the show was very entertaining. Crews like that dont make me look bad at all... quite the opposite infact.

 

[Bigus Termitius]

It's a shame really would of made for an enter show atleast. Just waiting till next week to see what else will happen. O'well the tree ballarians have spoken. Would kind of like TLC to go around and film some of the complainers, do a history check see how many have had problems of their own while working. Think I read of about 10 certed getting hurt, couple even to the point of not coming back.

Squirrelnuts, you're the second biggest joke of the whole thread.

By your own standards you are obviously jealous of real professionals that care about this industry and how it is portrayed.

The truth is that workers get hurt and even some lose their lives or end their careers doing something they love and make a living at, all while being as safe and professional as they can be.

Stuff happens. My concern, and the concern of others with more than a squirrel sized brain and an empty nut sack,(brass has never been a sufficient substitute for the real thing) is that if our peers get hurt even with safety in practice, then how much worse will it be if retools like nosack are glorified for the masses? How many homeowners will be affected one unfortunate way or another?

If you were a professional of any kind you would understand.

Get a clue.

 

[tree md]

It's a shame really would of made for an enter show atleast. Just waiting till next week to see what else will happen. O'well the tree ballarians have spoken. Would kind of like TLC to go around and film some of the complainers, do a history check see how many have had problems of their own while working. Think I read of about 10 certed getting hurt, couple even to the point of not coming back.

I don't know what you do for a living but say you were a painter. How would you like it is TLC aired a show saying "Painter For Hire" where the crew obviously had little experience, argued to the point of a near fist fight, spilled paint on the driveway and tore siding off of a house with a ladder, then said that it was an accurate depiction of a typical painting crew? My guess is you wouldn't like it very much either.

I have been working in the tree care industry for 18 years. I have made mistakes and even been seriously injured. I haven't always done everything by the book as I was not taught by the book. I never even saw a climber wear a helmet or PPE until I had been in the industry for 4 or 5 years. Most companies in the area I worked never required wearing it and although it was on the truck, no one wore it. Times have changed and so have industry standards.

Yes, things do go wrong sometimes and I'm sure we've all had less than stellar moments but you don't see us making a show out of what not to do. Like I have said I have been in the industry for 18 years. I've made my share of mistakes but I've never tore up a roof or tipped a crane in those 18 years, let alone doing both and then some on one job. That is absolutely a worse case scenario. I believe that anyone who thinks these are reasonable mistakes for a tree service to make has absolutely no idea of how a professional tree service really works.

 

[thejdman04]

I liked what his climber had to say about him and his mistletoe strangled the tap root comment. That guy is a TOTAL hazard when operating a bobcat. Driving around with the grapple all the way up in the air is just plain stupid, rule one carry your load low. Just how many guys and crews does this guy have?????? I couldnt believe he has 2 cranes, a guy like that? He has 2 phones for what, you shouldnt have one when running a crane. Does a job he wasnt supposed to(lady called it off that morning), he really needs to get his act together

 

[capetrees]

It's a shame really would of made for an enter show atleast. Just waiting till next week to see what else will happen. O'well the tree ballarians have spoken. Would kind of like TLC to go around and film some of the complainers, do a history check see how many have had problems of their own while working. Think I read of about 10 certed getting hurt, couple even to the point of not coming back.

:bang: :crazy1:

my head hurts when I read his posts.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Yes, things do go wrong sometimes and I'm sure we've all had less than stellar moments but you don't see us making a show out of what not to do. Like I have said I have been in the industry for 18 years. I've made my share of mistakes but I've never tore up a roof or tipped a crane in those 18 years, let alone doing both and then some on one job. That is absolutely a worse case scenario. I believe that anyone who thinks these are reasonable mistakes for a tree service to make has absolutely no idea of how a professional tree service really works.

Everybody makes mistakes. But he makes more in one job than most do in years of work. And he seems to brush off mistakes like they are no big deal. Setting a tree on a roof, or snagging and tearing a roof corner up are unacceptable mistakes for someone in this profession.

 

[BC_Logger]

TCIA and ISA call on TLC Network to Pull “Saw for Hire” Program Off the Air

January 23, 2009

Mr. David M. Zaslav
President and CEO
Discovery Communications
One Discovery Place Silver Spring, MD 20910

Dear Mr. Zaslav:

I would like to call your attention to a dangerous and unprofessional depiction of commercial tree care operations in the TLC program “Saw for Hire.”

Tree care is one of the five most hazardous professions in the country, according to independent research. Fatalities are all too common, and serious injuries occur daily. To advance safety, respected arborists are hard at work with associations, professional societies, certification organizations and government at all levels to reduce the accident and fatality rates among workers in the trees. Your program undermines all of those efforts, and it defames thousands of professional arborists in the U.S. who will not compromise their ethics, their integrity and the very safety of themselves and their co-workers for the sake of sensationalism.

Commercial arboriculture is subject to a variety of Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards. Judging from your program and the footage available at http://nosakraw.com, the arborists at Nosak Tree Service are either unaware of, or choose to ignore, these safety requirements.

The Tree Care Industry Association represents approximately 2,000 businesses engaged in commercial tree care in the United States. Since 1938, the association has worked to promote and uphold the highest standards of safe and professional conduct, including creating a Certified Treecare Safety Professional program and accrediting tree care companies so consumers know how to hire qualified companies.

In addition, the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) represents over 30,000 professional and Certified Arborists around the world. Founded in 1924, ISA promotes the professional practice of arboriculture including administering the Certified Arborist credential program. Through its position as the Secretariat of the ANSI Accredited Standards Committee Z-133 Safety Standards for Arboricultural Practices, ISA also works to promote high safety standards within the industry.

Our organizations are concerned that “Saw for Hire” glorifies unsafe and otherwise unprofessional conduct that, if used as an example in the field, quite simply puts lives at risk – both arborists and the consumers who hire them. The violations are numerous and egregious. They are not simply small, technical violations of industry safety practices but life-threatening acts that repeatedly and consistently show a lack of knowledge of the basics of safe tree care operations.

Discovery Communications claims it is committed to managing its business activities in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations and to ensuring honest and ethical behavior by its directors, officers, employees and contingent workers. “Saw for Hire” is a constant, ongoing violation of state, federal and industry professional standards and safety practices. In broadcasting this program, your network is complicit in the promotion of the unprofessional and unsafe practices of this company – practices that lead to injuries and fatalities in the tree care industry on a weekly basis.

Discovery Communications cannot be expected to know all of the safety regulations and best practices requirements that govern commercial arboriculture. Now that you have been made aware of the critically dangerous nature of the broadcast by your network, however, we ask that this program be taken off the air immediately for the benefit of consumers and arborists.

The tree care industry is ranked among the most dangerous professions in the United States. Employees in the tree care industry are often exposed to extreme hazards that must be met with an equally extreme commitment to safety. There are thousands of professional, safe and legally compliant tree care companies in the United States that could provide safe and professional examples of commercial arboriculture. It is in the spirit of cooperation, not confrontation, that we ask for your timely response.

Respectfully,

Cynthia Mills, CAE, CMC Jim Skiera, CAE
President & CEO Executive Director
Tree Care Industry Association International Society of
Arboriculture




this was posted right on the saw for hire web site

 

[clearance]

If that was here the guy would be fined and stopped from working. Crane operators are supposed to know how much thier pick wieghs. Among other things. The way the guy blows thing off and tries to justify his retarded actions is truly frightening.

This show could make some people think "If this guy can do it, being the doofus he is, how much worse could I be?"

 

[Bigbrass1's]

I have been working in the tree care industry for 18 years

nice, I've been doing it since 85.

The guy is just doing it for the camera.

 

[tree md]

nice, I've been doing it since 85.

The guy is just doing it for the camera.

Certainly couldn't tell by your comments.

 

[tree MDS]

I think those guys stay pretty boned up by the looks of it.

They should save that for after work.

Funny stuff though...Gerome seems like a good dude.

 

[Bigus Termitius]

I think those guys stay pretty boned up by the looks of it.

They should save that for after work.

Funny stuff though...Gerome seems like a good dude.

Josh's favorite rag: High Times.

Maybe that is why they can't make it to the jobsite before noon.

Ah well....that is why they call it dope.

It would be better if they were in the circus rather than trying to do tree work.

In this light, I can't call it Arboriculture. There is a difference.

A man can spend 20 years doing "tree work" and never be a arborist.

 

[tree MDS]

Josh's favorite rag: High Times.

Maybe that is why they can't make it to the jobsite before noon.

Ah well....that is why they call it dope.

It would be better if they were in the circus rather than trying to do tree work.

In this light, I can't call it Arboriculture. There is a difference.

A man can spend 20 years doing "tree work" and never be a arborist.

You sure?? I thought it was nosack's??

I remember reading that somewhere here way back..

Anyways.. I kind of brings me back to my original theory that they are just yanking our chains with this stuff.

I dont know, cant figure it out, the whole thing is just strange really.

I wonder if this is the way the crab fishermen and the loggers felt??

 

[Bigus Termitius]

You sure?? I thought it was nosack's??

I remember reading that somewhere here way back..

Anyways.. I kind of brings me back to my original theory that they are just yanking our chains with this stuff.

I dont know, cant figure it out, the whole thing is just strange really.

I wonder if this is the way the crab fishermen and the loggers felt??

Birds of a feather....


I'm sure this is how the fishermen and loggers felt. It seems as though the TV genies want to portray these outstanding time honored professions in the lowest light possible.

It doesn't say much for the general audience if this is entertainment.

 

[AOD]

I'd like to see the stuff form this show that didn't get broadcasted.

 

[tree md]

I'd like to see the stuff form this show that didn't get broadcasted.

I have worked at a home directly behind these guys and trust me you wouldn't. I also finished a job that they had abandoned and the homeowner told me she would never use them again. I noticed their yard sign in the trash can before I left.

 

[Bigbrass1's]

It seems as though the TV genies want to portray these outstanding time honored professions in the lowest light possible.

Sure they do. They would like nothing more than to show mishap after mishap. It's what boost ratings. Would be a boring show to watch tree md prune friut trees all day.

One thing to keep in mind is after deadliest catch aired the goverment stepped in and change the way the whole industry worked. Used to be whoever caught the most made the most. Now each ship get a set amount, so they really don't have to go out in the bad seas like they used to.

Certainly couldn't tell by your comments.

Why?? Cuase I speak from both sides of the fence? I'm not going to cry, moan, and write letters, hell the guys better than some of the so called Tree guys we have here in my state. I'm sure he's better than alot of guys in his state.

Any ways I think the guy's alright, might need some leading in right direction. Hard to say. I'd have to say he is a smart biz man he owns all his own gear. Takes 200,000 of his money makes the films, and sells it to a TV.

A man can spend 20 years doing "tree work" and never be a arborist.

yup, and then there's the arborist of 20years that could never do "tree work".
Hell the best ones are the Arborist that can't even climb. I love the big companies that are loaded with the salesmen/women that don't even know how to get up a tree.

 

[AOD]

I have worked at a home directly behind these guys and trust me you wouldn't. I also finished a job that they had abandoned and the homeowner told me she would never use them again. I noticed their yard sign in the trash can before I left.

Wow, that bad. I wouldn't think a badass like Paul would leave a job unfinished, but then again his stupid ass cut down a tree he wasn't even supposed to. That's really a bad way to portray the industry, but what do I know, I'm just a $8/hr weed whip lackey.