Family of DPW worker who died of heatstroke says it was ‘completely preventable’

After a Baltimore sanitation worker died on the job from overheating 10 days ago, his family spoke publicly for the first time Monday, saying his death was a needless tragedy.

“Ronald was the backbone and heartbeat of our family,” said Renee Meredith, an aunt of Ronald Silver II, 36, who died from hyperthermia on Aug. 2. “And he was taken from us long before his time in what was a completely preventable death.”

About 15 members of Silver’s family stood outside of City Hall, calling for a “swift” investigation with hearings open to the public and for other Department of Public Works employees to come forward with any information surrounding Silver’s death. Thiru Vignarajah, a four-time candidate for citywide office who is the family’s legal representative, joined them as they spoke out.

“Ronald Silver had become the patriarch, the protector and the provider for this family. He was the pillar and foundation of this entire family, and they are lost without him,” Vignarajah said, holding Silver’s offer letter from the public agency.

Silver began his role as a solid waste worker on Oct. 30, 2023. The father of five children, ranging in ages from 10 to 16, received a base salary of $37,242 — about $18 an hour.

Despite what Vignarajah described as a “meager salary not enough to raise five kids,” Silver’s job was a source of pride for him, he said. And now, he said, Silver’s death has to be the reason this never happens again.

“This family is grieving and mourning, in part, because they loved him so much, and in part, because this was so avoidable,” Vignarajah said.

Vignarajah said Silver was in “perfect health with no prior symptoms or concerns,” and noted that his death came as DPW was already facing scrutiny over working conditions at its facilities.

“This is a 36-year-old, able-bodied man who’s picking up barrels of trash in 100-degree-plus weather. That is what put him at grave risk,” he said.

The Department of Public works didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Earlier this summer, the Baltimore Office of Inspector General released two reports on the working conditions at city-run sanitation facilities, including the Cherry Hill yard where Silver was based. The reports found broken air conditioning, inoperable water fountains and nonfunctional ice machines at one facility, and damaged locker rooms and locked-up toilet paper at another. Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming personally observed employees leaving for their trash routes without being given water or Gatorade for their shifts, she wrote.

At a press conference responding to Silver’s death last week, City Council members and union leaders pointed to a “toxic” culture of bullying and intimidation within the public works department that they argued has exacerbated poor working conditions there.

Mayor Brandon Scott denounced that behavior at a news conference the following day, saying a culture of bullying has persisted in the agency for “far too long” and promising to punish anyone participating in it. Gov. Wes Moore has also called for a “full investigation” into Silver’s death.

Led by council members Zeke Cohen, Isaac “Yitzy” Schleifer and Antonio Glover, a former sanitation worker for the city, a coalition of unions and elected leaders last week released a series of demands to ensure safer working conditions in the public works department.

Among them, the coalition demanded a full-time position in Baltimore’s Office of the Inspector General to focus on safety at the public works department; increased staffing in the agency; full cooperation from Scott’s administration in City Council investigations; and an independent review of the city’s facility maintenance contracts.

Silver is one of 18 Marylanders who have died from heat-related illness so far this summer, according to the latest data from the Maryland Department of Health. That’s more than the number of deaths reported in 2023, 2022 and 2021.

Even as heat has killed dozens and sickened hundreds in the state, Maryland’s work safety agency has initiated only 32 inspections into employers reported for heat-related issues since 2019, according to data obtained by The Baltimore Banner.

Extreme heat is the deadliest weather event in the United States, and kills more people than hurricanes, floods and tornadoes combined. The Maryland Department of Health says preventing heat illness is entirely about prevention.

Last Tuesday, the day of the council members’ press conference, the Scott administration suspended trash and recycling pickup for the day to hold hold mandatory heat safety training sessions for employees at its Reedbird and Bowleys Lane facilities.

Currently, the City Council hearings Silver’s family has called for have not been scheduled. It is unclear when they will take place.