Father raises concerns about Baltimore DPW after his son died from overheating while on the job
BALTIMORE -- The father of Ronald Silver, a Baltimore Department of Public Works (DPW) employee who died over the summer, shared his concerns for the first time about a broken culture at the department and what must be done to fix it.
It comes as families and union leaders are raising safety concerns for Baltimore City employees after two sanitation workers lost their lives on the job a little more than three months apart.
WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren sat down with the Silver family as they demanded accountability.
A Father's Loss
Since his son's death on August 2, 2024, it has been difficult for Ronald Silver I cope.
"You really don't," his father, Ronald Silver I, said. "You just go on day by day and try to manage your life. 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."
"He was my first son. As he called me, I was his champ, but really he was my champ," said the grieving father. "He was proud when he got this job, and he sent me the paper when it was confirmed he got the job. I constantly held back from giving him his 'atta boy.' But he's definitely awarded that now."
Sitting by his side in the interview was Ronald Silver II's heartbroken aunt LaTonya Mountain.
"He was a good man and his pictures represent how he held his head up high," Mountain told WJZ. "It is still very painful, and there are no words to really describe what this feels like. He was my nephew, but he was like my son."
They lost him forever on a searing hot day last August.
Feel-like temperatures soared past 100 degrees Fahrenheit while Ronnie collected trash on the job for the city's Department of Public Works. He collapsed after begging a neighbor along his route for help.
An autopsy revealed that his body had overheated
"It's important for me to speak out because I would not want this to happen to any other family," his aunt said. "There are corrections that need to be made. They were aware, and they are now aware even more so of the deplorable conditions these employees work under, and something needs to be done. Unfortunately, it will not bring back my nephew, but it may save someone else's life."
Silver's father agreed, and said DPW has had "plenty of warnings" that it needed to do more to protect workers in extreme heat and cold before his son's death.
"For it to become a reality in my life was upsetting because this is something that they knew was happening," he said.
Prior Warnings
Those prior warnings included a report by the city's inspector general weeks before Silver's death detailing a lack of water, dilapidated facilities and broken vehicles.
After Silver's death, an independent investigation ordered by the city found little to no safety training, a lack of accountability among supervisors, and retaliation against those who complained about the inhumane working conditions.
Read the findings of the investigation HERE.
A follow-up report by the inspector general revealed the city underreported heat-related illnesses including employees blacking out and vomiting during their shifts in triple-digit temperatures.
"Have other incidents happened since then that nobody knows about?" Silver's aunt asked.
Silver's father had this message for his son's former co-workers: "They are still out there trying to survive. They need their jobs. They have to be behind them too. Do the right thing for them. Make sure they have the proper water, supplies, air conditioning. Make the conditions better for them. Not only so they can provide for their family but so they can make it home."
Silver's aunt said, "They should speak up. They should feel with what's going on now, this is the time to speak up. They do get a paycheck for doing a job, but the job owes them something as well—and that is to be treated like human beings, and I just want them to know that we will be supporting whatever we need to support to make that working conditions better."
The city has stressed they are taking action, saying they are installing new leadership in DPW, spending millions on new vehicles and facility upgrades, mandating training and creating a way for workers to confidentially report safety concerns.
The inspector general is expected to release another report in January and is encouraging city employees with issues to reach out to her hotline and said their identities will be protected.
The email is [email protected] or people may call 443-984-3476 or 800-417-0430.
Another DPW Worker Dies
Sadly, in November, another DPW worker, Timothy Cartwell, died while on the job.
WJZ obtained video of the incident where he was crushed by a trash truck. The head of the union said Cartwell's death has raised the same concerns about a lack of training.
Silver's family joined Cartwell's family Friday in front of city hall to demand changes.
"This is something that absolutely should not have happened and was totally avoidable, AFSCME local president Patrick Moran said last week. "Again, we are at this crossroads of poor decision making, lack of training. You've got to change this."
He also said the union still has not received critical information from Baltimore City.
"The unfortunate thing is we've been requesting health and safety data from the city for weeks—months now—and we continue to get stonewalled on this."
For the Silver family, still grieving, nothing will bring their beloved Ronnie back, but they hope his legacy will be improving conditions for his co-workers.
"I hope very much that it changes because we don't want anybody to go through the tragedy that I'm going through now," Ronald Silver I said.
"I want them to know that he was loved," his aunt said. "And that he deserved better than he was treated as a human being...He was a servant to Baltimore City, and he as well as all Baltimore City employees should be treated with dignity and respect. He deserved it. He earned it. He interviewed for a job that promised him a future but didn't deliver."
State Investigation
Maryland's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MOSH) is conducting its own investigation into Silver's death. The city said it is providing information to the agency.
MOSH guidelines require the city to provide DPW workers with 32 ounces of water every hour when temperatures rise above 80 degrees Fahrenheit and require regular breaks for workers when temperatures rise above 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
Mayor Responds
"The release of this independent review marks an important inflection point in our effort to enhance workplace safety for all of Baltimore's frontline workers," Mayor Brandon Scott said after the release of the independent investigation last month. "Many of the recommendations that are outlined in this report go beyond requirements under state or federal law. We will continue to work with all of the relevant stakeholders, including union leadership, partners on the City Council, and with workers themselves to ensure that the City of Baltimore is doing everything in our power to improve worker safety for those who do the hardest, most thankless jobs on behalf of all Baltimoreans. Our hearts continue to be with the family and loved ones of Mr. Ronald Silver. It is my hope that they continue to advocate on behalf of the coworkers that Mr. Silver left behind, as we work together to overcome the historic challenges facing them on the job every day."
Mayor Scott also responded to Cartwell's death, posting on X, "We are devastated by the loss of one of our DPW family, Timothy Cartwell. I've spoken with members of his family and extended the heartbreak that the entire City of Baltimore shares with them."
He also spoke to WJZ last week and called the death "an extreme tragedy."
