Community leaders and bereaved family members of Baltimore City Department of Public Works (DPW) employees have raised their voices at City Hall, demanding substantial changes in the wake of a sequence of worker deaths. The most recent incident involved Timothy Cartwell, a DPW solid waste worker, who died tragically on the job over a week ago. Amidst sorrow and frustration, Shantae Carroll, Cartwell's sister-in-law, implored city officials and DPW leaders to take urgent action. "We need for you to step up. Do what is right. Fix what needs to be fixed," Carroll urged, as reported by Fox Baltimore.
The deaths have sparked outrage and concerns regarding the agency's workplace conditions. With Cartwell's death being the fourth such fatality in recent years, advocates believe that a "toxic culture" at DPW has contributed to these tragedies. Linda Batts, a community leader and former DPW employee, touched on what many see as a "pattern of neglect and failure" by those at the helm at DPW. While the Maryland Occupational Safety and Health program has launched an investigation, the urgency for reforms remains palpable. Not only are the bereaved families seeking justice, but they are also calling for reclassifying sanitation workers as public health professionals and establishing a citywide advisory board, as cited by WBALTV.
Demands for change are accompanied by calls for honor and remembrance for those lost. The families and their allies want a monument, or wall, to pay tribute to the deceased DPW workers and to have their photos placed inside DPW headquarters, where trash was pinned against a wooden pole in an alley that caused Cartwell's fatal accident. The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union also vies for more transparency, repeatedly requesting health and safety data from the city that DPW has not provided. Amongst the voices insisting on these changes is Marvin "Doc" Cheatham, a civil rights leader, who told WBALTV, “We are going to continue to look at what needs to be done, what recommendations we can make to make improvements."
While DPW declined to comment, the call for change persists, emphasizing the urgent need for action to protect city employees. As investigations into the deaths continue, the community remains steadfast, advocating for a future where such tragedies are prevented and ultimately unthinkable.
