Potelco Joins BEST’s Employers Alliance

BEST is proud to announce that Potelco has joined our Employers Alliance. Founded in 1965 and based in Sumner, Washington, Potelco provides comprehensive electric utility construction services. They employ 1,400 people across 12 regional offices and have a fleet of over 3,500 pieces of equipment. In 1998, Potelco joined the Quanta Services network.

Potelco originated as a family-run business and remains committed to the safety and improvement of the communities in which they operate. Potelco has an extensive Safety Program, ensuring the safety of their employees as well as that of the general public who benefit from the services they provide. As part of their commitment to corporate social responsibility, Potelco has worked to convert their vehicles to cleaner fuel and added electric vehicles to their fleet. Joining the BEST Employers Alliance is their most recent endeavor to use their business to improve people’s lives.

Potelco’s Vice President of Safety and Training, Bryan Sabari, has been the driving force behind their commitment to prevent sex trafficking and buying within their business and network. Sabari’s interest in this topic developed after learning that someone he knew was arrested for involvement in a human trafficking and prostitution ring. He was shocked that someone from his community in Bellevue could be involved in something so heinous. “I had no idea anything like this could happen in my neighborhood. I was naive to the fact that sex trafficking was happening at all, and I was shocked that no one seemed to be talking about it,” Sabari said.

Sabari reached out to BEST and he learned more about the crime of human trafficking. He found out that human trafficking can impact any industry. Through BEST, Sabari learned how critical it is for a company to take preemptive steps to be protected from risk while making the community safer. Most companies have policies that address things like drug use, sexual harassment, and use of company resources, so, Sabari surmises, “Why wouldn’t we have a policy letting our employees know that we are an inclusive workplace, and that we take a firm stand against sex trafficking?”
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Over the next year, Potelco will be incorporating new policies regarding these issues in their employee handbook and new employee orientation. They will also be providing employees with education on human trafficking awareness. As simple as it may seem, these actions have incredible power to reduce demand for sex trafficking victims and save future victims from being exploited and abused. BEST is thrilled that the team at Potelco has chosen to join the Employers Alliance and has committed to educate and train its 1,400 employees. We applaud Potelco’s outstanding level of leadership in the construction industry.