Last August, Ronald Silver II died from being overworked and deprived of hydration in the sweltering heat of 99°F. Following his death, Silver’s grieving family demanded better from the Department of Public Works (DPW), and investigations by Baltimore’s Inspector General showed the department’s negligence included not only a lack of water and Gatorade for workers but also broken ice machines and broken HVAC systems inside the facilities. It was not until eight weeks after Silver’s death that Maryland issued new heat safety regulations, which allowed Baltimore City to evade being fined for safety violations.
In November 2024, Timothy Cartwell, another sanitation worker, died from injuries sustained on the job, which renewed demands from DPW workers and Baltimore City community members for safety regulations and training to be implemented to prevent more unnecessary injuries and deaths.
A new report by Baltimore’s Inspector General revealed workers’ testimonies of being coerced to work while injured and facing suspension if they reported their injuries after the day of the incident. Even after the deaths of Ronald Silver and Timothy Cartwell, safety is not the top priority of the DPW, which continues to treat workers as expendable.
Without the outrage voiced by workers and their families last year, the department’s glaring disrespect for the lives of workers would likely have been hidden in the shadows. The abuse of workers by Baltimore’s DPW is a symptom of an economic system that values profits over the lives of people, and only by fighting back against this dehumanizing system can workers win the respect and safe working conditions they deserve.
