DPW worker's family demands accountability for heat-related death ahead of oversight hearing

BALTIMORE -- Relatives of Baltimore City Department of Public Works employee Ronald Silver II, who died on the job because of extreme heat, have demanded public hearings into what went wrong—and they will soon get them. 

Baltimore's City Council has agreed to hold oversight hearings on Thursday, Aug. 22 after reports of a toxic workplace culture. 

The head of Silver's union praised the development. 

"There has to be a change in culture in DPW. It's been toxic to say the least and we have to change that. We're adults here and adults should not be treating other adults like that," Patrick Moran, the local president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren. 

At this point, it is unclear who will be testifying. 

"We'll probably have members lined up to testify about their experiences at DPW. I'm sure the DPW management will testify—as they should," Moran said. 

Hellgren asked Moran whether the union is calling for anyone to be disciplined or fired over the death.

"I think that's remains to be seen," he said. "People need to be held accountable."

The union has demanded stricter standards to protect employees working in the heat that have been recommended by the federal government.

Family demands accountability 

Renee Meredith, Silver's aunt, spoke publicly for the first time this week calling for someone to be held accountable.

Silver died on August 2 after suffering from a heat-related illness.

"Our family is furious and heartbroken," Meredith said. "Ronnie, we miss you, and we love you, and by the time we're done, every worker will be safer because of the mark you have left."

Inspector General flagged unsafe conditions

Silver's death happened weeks after WJZ highlighted the Baltimore Inspector General's investigation detailed unsafe working conditions at DPW—including a lack of ice and water for employees in the extreme heat. 

"It violates human standards. The people who choose to work here in Baltimore deserve better," Baltimore City's Inspector General Isabel Cumming told Hellgren in early July. 

"This is a huge wake-up call," Cumming warned. "Let's just fix it."

The Silver family's attorney noted there was no heat-related safety training until after Silver's death. 

"We treat animals better than this in the heat of summer. Ronald Silver deserved better," attorney Thiru Vignarajah said Monday.

"A man who needlessly died on the streets of Baltimore begging for water after picking up people's trash in 100-degree weather, they want him to be the catalyst for change. They want him to be the reason this never happens again," Vignarajah added. 

Silver, a father of five, made roughly $37,000 a year serving the people of Baltimore. His loved ones want to make sure city leaders know his life was priceless to them. 

"We will not let the world forget Ronnie Silver II," his aunt said. "He was taken from us long before his time in what was a completely preventable death."

At this point, no lawsuit has been filed against the city.

DPW worker shot this week

WJZ is also following a developing story involving an off-duty DPW worker who was shot Monday afternoon. 

DPW said she was driving home from work in her personal vehicle when she was hit by a stray bullet at Fulton and North Avenues around 3 p.m.

The 36-year-old woman went to a nearby DPW facility for help. 

"Medical assistance arrived at the facility to transport the employee to an area hospital for treatment. As this matter is now under investigation by the Baltimore Police Department, DPW would refer further inquiries to BPD," the agency said in a statement to WJZ. 

In May, a DPW worker was shot while on the job picking up trash in West Baltimore. 

You can read more here about that incident here.