BALTIMORE — Faith Johnson's grief reverberated throughout the Baltimore City Council chambers at the beginning of a Thursday night hearing.
"This pain is indescribable," Johnson, Ronald Silver II's mother, said at a podium in front of the council's Rules and Legislative Oversight committee.
The medical examiner said Silver died of heat exhaustion earlier this month while working for Baltimore's Department of Public Works.
This summer, the Baltimore City Office of the Inspector General published two reports detailing unsafe workplace allegations, including no air conditioning, a lack of adequate water, and poor conditions in bathrooms.
Those allegations culminated in a Thursday night council hearing, during which councilmembers pressed DPW leadership on the organization's practices.
"Let me be clear: any individual who contributes to a poor working environment will not remain as part of our agency," Khalil Zaied, Baltimore City Acting DPW Director, told the City Council during prepared remarks Thursday.
Zaied acknowledged a culture change needs to take place, sharing thoughts and prayers for Silver. In a slideshow presentation, he outlined the department's protocols and planned improvements.
"It's frustrating," said Antonio Glover, councilmember for the city's 13th district, "And it brings my heart to cry. I can't bear to see... the culture has to change."
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"How did that happen?" questioned councilmember Odette Ramos. "It just doesn't make any sense to me that people would be getting Gatorade and water but then not able to access it."
Also in attendance: folks from the workers' AFSCME union. Leader Patrick Moran called Silver's death "unacceptable" and pushed for the city to proactively adopt heat standards.
Councilmember Zeke Cohen asked Zaied for frontline workers' involvement in future training. The acting director agreed, also making this commitment:
"The comfort level is going to come over time. The change in culture is going to come over time. People need to see me and see me more. And I will make that commitment in the next 2-3 weeks, I will be riding on one of those trucks with the people," Zaied said.
