Latest news with #RonaldSilverII
CBS News
9 hours ago
- Health
- CBS News
Baltimore leaders spar over health insurance for all DPW workers a year after an on-the-job death
The death of a Baltimore sanitation worker in the heat on the job one year ago this week exposed many alarming problems, including a lack of health insurance for more than 130 frontline solid waste workers. Baltimore City Comptroller Bill Henry proposed a simple fix: Enroll everyone. But the mayor's representatives voted it down, citing ongoing union contract negotiations. Ronald Silver II's family has been fighting to make things better for his colleagues since he collapsed and died after a day picking up trash in the sweltering heat in August 2024. His mother, Faith Johnson, told WJZ, "He was not replaceable." Baltimore City Inspector General Isabel Cumming had been looking into problems within the Department of Public Works since before Silver's death. One of her reports uncovered a lack of awareness among some workers about health insurance. "Ron Silver did not have health insurance," Cumming told WJZ Investigates. "He did not have health insurance, and 135 other guys were also in that same condition, not having health insurance." Cumming said one co-worker only discovered he was uninsured after he was hospitalized. "When we talked to them, so many thought they had health insurance because they thought it was automatic," Cumming said. "It's not." Cumming also found that some workers were not even receiving the $2,500 stipends they are entitled to for not taking the insurance. She noted that is a significant amount of money for employees, some of whom make less than $40,000 annually. "Picking up the trash in Baltimore City is absolutely an essential part of keeping the city running the way it does," Cumming said. Comptroller Bill Henry's solution was to sign up every city employee for the least expensive health insurance plan automatically. If they chose to opt out, they could, but at least they would be covered. "We took that report. We came up with a solution," Henry said. Henry said the city already budgets roughly $14,000 per employee for those benefits, so it would not cost anything. He even proposed giving a $5,000 credit for those who opt out of insurance. "That is the city making the point—the point in its own policy—that we, the city, want you to be covered by health insurance," Henry said. "Frankly, I thought this would be easier than it turned out to be." The three members of the city's spending board appointed by the mayor voted against Henry's proposal. Some believed it would interfere with ongoing union negotiations and that the spending board may not be the appropriate venue to create city policy. Mayor Brandon Scott's administration noted they were able to enroll all but five of those flagged in the inspector general's report through intensive outreach. "This notion that nothing changed, I want to address that. That is not true," said the city's chief administrative officer, Faith Leach, during a lengthy discussion at the Board of Estimates. But the comptroller pushed back. Henry fears that, with the large turnover in DPW, tragedy on the job could happen again. "There is no good reason for them to oppose this. The only reason we can come up with is it wasn't their idea," Henry said. Inspector General Cumming said she was "very disappointed." She noted, "The fact is that it was proven that we have a problem." WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren asked Mayor Brandon Scott why the city does not automatically enroll all employees into a health insurance plan. "We have negotiations with our labor unions, and they come to the table with things they want to negotiate," Mayor Scott said. "This is one of the things that is a negotiable thing for them. But also even beyond that, I want to be very clear that our employees, including ones in public works, they're smart, and they make the decisions on what they believe is best for them and their families, right? And when you look at—even after the things that happened last year—we went back and offered, some folks still decided not to." Ronald Silver's family reacted through their lawyer, Thiru Vignarajah. "It is baffling that the mayor and the city of Baltimore would not want every one of its employees, especially those who face such difficult work conditions, to have health insurance," Vignarajah said. "Here is just another example of them dropping the ball when they could have easily done the right thing." Vignarajah recently announced that the Silver family intends to sue the city over civil rights violations. The comptroller still believes signing everyone up is the easiest solution, but he said it is pointless to bring it to a vote again because he would lose. "The idea that we would let anybody go out there without health benefits that they've earned just because we didn't feel like changing the rules to make it easier for them to get those benefits—that to me is kind of disappointing," Henry said. Of the Scott administration, Henry said, "They've made their point that they don't want to do it this way." It could still be brought up through the city council. The administration promised to continue with outreach efforts to make sure every employee is aware of their benefits.
CBS News
5 days ago
- CBS News
Family of Ronald Silver II sues Baltimore over DPW worker's heat-related death
The family of Ronald Silver II, a Baltimore Department of Public Works employee who died while working in extreme heat last year, is suing the City of Baltimore, attorney Thiru Vignarajah announced Thursday. Travis Christian, a co-worker who was with Silver on the day of his death, is also a plaintiff in the lawsuit. The lawsuit accuses the city of violating civil rights laws and forcing employees to work in unsafe conditions. In a notice of litigation, Vignarajah said DPW employees were afraid to report poor working conditions due to fear of being fired, especially those working as a condition of probation. He also said the department failed to inform workers about the risks of heat exposure or how to respond to symptoms of illness. "For years, DPW has operated a system of labor that demands that its workers, many of whom have prior criminal convictions, perform grueling manual labor in dangerous, subhuman conditions for laughable wages," Vignarajah said in a statement Thursday. "The agency has perpetuated a system where workers cannot ask for assistance, complain about their plight, or even quit—because if they do, they face retaliation, termination, and jail time." Silver, 35, died of hyperthermia on Aug. 2, 2024, while on his trash route, according to a report by the Maryland Occupational Safety and Health agency (MOSH) released in April. In March 2025, the Baltimore Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued a detailed report outlining the events of that day, including accounts from witnesses and video evidence. Christian told investigators that the truck's air conditioning system was not functioning. He said Silver began feeling unwell several hours into his shift, but declined to rest, fearing the truck driver might report him to management. Silver collapsed twice that day. The first time, Christian said he found him lying face down, with scrapes on his hands and elbows and going in and out of consciousness. Christian described Silver's body as "limp and lifeless" as he lifted him into the truck. Later, Silver collapsed again while approaching a home to seek help. A witness attempted to assist and called 911. Silver was transported to the hospital, where he died. The OIG report said DPW workers feared retaliation for stopping work due to illness and described a culture that discouraged breaks even in dangerous heat. It also noted a longstanding pattern of excessive route demands, poor vehicle conditions, and lack of rest periods. MOSH cited the department for a "serious" safety violation, stating DPW failed to provide a safe working environment free from known hazards, including extreme heat. The agency also found that DPW lacked any heat safety training before Silver's death. It cited 14 heat-related injuries between 2021 and 2024, although the OIG identified 29 such cases. In response, DPW said it began implementing a Heat Illness Prevention Plan and requested additional time to comply. Silver's family has repeatedly said his death was preventable. They claim DPW ignored years of internal reports warning of unsafe conditions. "Mr. Silver's death was absolutely preventable and was the direct, predictable result of a city agency that treats its workers like indentured laborers," Vignarajah said in a March statement. "DPW's practices were designed to lock in a culture of silence and subjugation, and Ronald Silver II paid the ultimate price." Silver's family spoke to WJZ in November 2024, as they were grieving his loss. "I just love my son, and I miss him. I just want the world to know that my son did mean something. He wasn't just a trash man," Silver's father said in part.
CBS News
28-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Maryland leaders to honor those who died on the job during Workers' Memorial Day ceremony
Maryland leaders will hold a Workers' Memorial Day ceremony Monday to honor people who have died on the job or those who have suffered work-related injuries. During the ceremony at Baltimore City Hall, leaders and workers will call for job safety protections and the freedom to join unions. Attendees are also expected to talk about the weakening of job safety agencies facilitated by the Trump administration. According to organizers, the administration's actions are putting workers in danger by undermining safety standards and enforcement. After the ceremony, the Baltimore City Council will introduce a resolution recognizing April 28 as Workers Memorial Day. Trump administration's federal staffing cuts endanger workers According to union leaders and state officials, progress toward job safety is at risk due to President Trump's ongoing cuts to federal staffing and funding. Through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the president has facilitated wide-reaching cuts to federal funding and staffing with the goal of lowering spending. The task force has directed government agencies to implement layoffs, prompting some state and county leaders to provide additional resources for workers who lost their jobs. According to union leaders and workers, the Trump administration's effort to defund or eliminate staff from federal job safety agencies would have a negative impact on working people. "Efforts to fire federal workers means we will have fewer job safety inspectors to ensure corporations follow the law," event organizers said in a statement. "Efforts to undermine independent federal agencies erode workers' only safeguard against employers who endanger them or retaliate for reporting unsafe working conditions." According to event organizers, data shows that 5,283 workers were killed on the job and 2.6 million cases of workplace illness or injury were reported across the U.S. in 2023. "Under the Trump administration, new anti-worker attacks threaten to increase those numbers," leaders said. Workers killed on the job in Maryland There were 59 workplace fatalities reported in Maryland in 2020, according to the Maryland Department of Labor. The number of work-related deaths declined from 78 in 2019. According to 2020 data, the occupations with the highest number of workplace deaths were transportation and material moving. In August 2024, a Baltimore City Department of Public Works (DPW) employee died while on the job. Ronald Silver II died from heat exhaustion while working. His death sparked investigations and led DPW to be cited with a serious violation for failing to protect employees from dangerous heat. The investigations by the Maryland Occupational Safety and Health Agency (MOSH) and Baltimore City's Inspector General both identified red flags, including bad working conditions, lack of training and a culture of fear. In November 2024, the agency faced scrutiny again after a waste collector was trapped by a trash truck and died. Timothy Cartwell's death sparked renewed calls for change at DPW. Following the investigations into Silver's death, DPW's director promised changes in safety measures and workplace culture.
CBS News
10-03-2025
- Health
- CBS News
City of Baltimore, DPW cited for "serious" violation after heat death of worker
The Baltimore City Department of Public Works, Bureau of Solid Waste was cited for a "serious" violation, for failing to protect its employees from dangerous heat, according to Maryland Occupational Safety and Health Agency (MOSH). MOSH began its investigation into DPW following the death of Ronald Silver II. Silver died of heatstroke on August 2, 2024, while working in temperatures approaching 100 degrees. According to MOSH's citation, DPW did not "furnish a place of employment free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees, in that employees were exposed to excessive heat." On Aug. 2, the date of the violation, the department said employees were working in direct sunlight when the calculated heat index reached approximately 108.6° Fahrenheit. Those conditions can cause muscle cramps, rashes, heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and death, MOSH said in its report. While the citation does not come with a financial penalty, it requires Baltimore City officials to correct the problem and show remediation of the dangerous conditions by March 17. The violation is classified as "serious," which indicates that the violation involves a condition where there is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from the hazard, per the citation. Death of Ronald Silver II The death of Ronald Silver II sparked outrage from Baltimore City leaders, who said DPW had a "toxic" work culture. Silver's family told WJZ that DPW had been warned about employee safety during extreme heat. Thiru Vinerjah, the attorney for Silver's family, called for accountability in a press conference after Silver's death. Those calls for accountability culminated in a report by the Office of the Inspector General, which said that an investigation revealed a negative work culture and concerns for worker safety and morale that have persisted for the "last decade" at DPW. Mayor Scott responds to DPW concerns. Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott addressed the OIG's report last week, saying that the problems at DPW pre-dated his administration. "We're talking about historic levels of disinvestment and not having the protocols and practices in place, and that's why we have the leadership--and that's why we have been proactively starting to work on these things," Scott said. "I'm not going to be happy until the work is complete, but I also know this is not overnight work." According to the Baltimore Banner, Scott said last week that the city has "a long, long, long way to go" to improve conditions at DPW. He also said work to address the problems at DPW has already begun with the creation of a new deputy mayor role, which will oversee key city agencies, including DPW.
