Baltimore City Councilmembers went late into the hours Wednesday night grilling leaders at the Department of Public Works on how its $1.3B FY 2026 budget proposal would keep workers safe and improve services.
Last year two sanitation workers died on the clock, including Ron Silver II’s death from heat stroke.
Supervisors will use GPS monitoring on the trucks, and text message alerts to ensure workers are taking mandatory breaks in high heat, explained DPW Director Khalil Zaied.
“We need to make sure that people understand that taking a break is not an option at that point,” said Zaied.
“And you're going to hold the supervisors responsible?” pressed Council President Zeke Cohen.
“Definitely. We're going to hold the supervisors responsible. We're going to hold the driver responsible… because the driver is… the captain of that ship at that point, as well,” said Zaied.
Zaied explained that the new DPW heat standard requires 10 minute breaks every two hours when workers face temperatures above 90 degrees, those breaks increase to an hourly 15 minute break once temperatures reach 100. Those requirements are not unique to DPW, they are required under a new Maryland heat standard that went into effect less than two months after Silver died in August 2024.
In one of a series of investigative reports into working conditions at DPW’s Bureau of Solid Waste, Baltimore City Inspector General Isabel Cumming reported that the city’s trash routes are on average 20% longer than the industry standard of 950 stops. Additionally, since workers are allowed to go home as soon as the route is completed, the department had a culture of speeding through work even at the peril of workers.
In that same report, Cumming noted that between 2019-2024 there were six worker deaths and 1,627 injuries that resulted in more than $15M of workers’ compensation being paid out to employees.
The budget proposal includes $5M for more staffing, both in-house and contractual, to support the creation of 15 additional solid waste crews — allowing for shorter, faster, and hopefully safer collection routes. According to the proposal, that funding would go to 6 months of contractual solid waste staffing for the first half of FY 2026, and then the 15 additional crews would be created and in place for the final half of the fiscal year.
“One thing we don't want to go through, or we don't want to have, is to go this summer or next summer without having enough resources in order to do what we need to do,” said Zaied.
Councilman Antonio Glover, a former DPW sanitation worker, urged training for those incoming crews to happen quickly. “I just just want to kind of make sure that we push the fact that no early on,” said the councilman.
While multiple councilmembers expressed gratitude that safety within the department has become an area of focus, there were still concerns.
Cohen noted that on a recent ridealong, where council members shadowed a DPW recycling route, workers were not wearing safety glasses. “We were out there and the trash compactors are compacting the trash, there's a lot of glass that would spray up.”
Representatives from DPW testified that workers did have goggles and other safety equipment but they did not know why they weren’t being used. Zaeid said that the budget includes funds for upgrades to the Reedbird Sanitation Yard, a site where the OIG found “dangerous” working conditions last year, like a lack of air conditioning and water. Updates are set to begin there in the fall, he said.
Earlier this spring, sanitation workers testified about their low wages and hazard pay. Zaied confirmed salary negotiations are still underway with AFSCME Maryland Council 3, the union that represents most Baltimore sanitation workers, but that he could not say if or what raises will look like until those are complete.
An overall increase of $5.0 million in funding for solid waste services. This funding will support 6 months of continued contractual solid waste staffing for the first half of Fiscal 2026 and creation of 15 additional solid waste crews for the latter half of Fiscal 2026.
