Throughout his political career, Mayor Brandon Scott has been firmly committed to creating a more equitable Baltimore. Equity is at the cornerstone of his approach to policymaking and governance, from appointing the city’s first chief equity officer to declaring equity his “guiding principle” when he was sworn in as mayor in 2020. And, let’s be clear, this is a noble goal.

But recent revelations in the Baltimore City Department of Public Works are proof that equity is easy to talk about, but very hard to create. The vast majority of individuals who work at DPW are low-wage people of color. Yet, culture and management issues at DPW have jeopardized the well-being and safety of its employees for at least a decade.

There are now many data points and anecdotal stories to support that claim. The heat-induced death of Ronald Silver II last summer is perhaps the most notable and tragic piece of proof. Silver was a 36-year-old father of five who died during a brutally hot August day where the heat index reached 103.

But findings included in an inspector general report released last week show that the neglect for DPW workers’ safety runs deep.

Workers told Baltimore City Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming that many of DPW’s vehicles don’t have working air conditioning. Data shows DPW scrambled to repair air conditioning systems in its vehicles after Silver’s death. But a worker’s death shouldn’t have been necessary to make that happen.

He should not have died while performing his job.

On top of that, the new trucks purchased by DPW don’t have space behind the seats to put a cooler for drinks, and the city was reluctant to custom fit cooler space in the truck bed because it could void the trucks’ warranties, the IG found. Workers also reported delays in receiving uniforms, gloves and boots for cold-weather shifts, according to the IG.

The weather-related adverse working conditions are not limited to the summer months.

DPW workers allegedly face disciplinary action, including suspension, if they don’t report workplace injuries on the day they happen. That may seem reasonable, but the IG documented one case of a worker who chose not to seek medical care for a workplace injury because it was not reported the day of. Seeking care at the city health clinic after the fact could have led to a suspension, according to the employee’s supervisor.

Workers told the IG the health clinic doesn’t actually do any physical examinations during “return to work” visits and usually tells employees they can return to work on “light duty.” Injured workers are then forced to use their paid or unpaid leave time to recover.

We would go so far as to say that not a single Baltimore City resident wants DPW to perform their job duties if it means they have to risk their lives to do it. The department must make sweeping changes to ensure that employees of DPW are allowed to conduct their job duties in an environment that doesn’t risk their lives. And equity needs to be front of mind. These workers deserve to be given the appropriate care and respect their jobs require.

The central point here is this: If Baltimore is going to be a city rooted in equity, as the mayor often says and many of us strive toward, then the roots of that equity need to be in every department, starting with the ones that exist more in the margins. A chief equity officer and an Office of Equity and Civil Rights for the city is noble, but first equity must be addressed in the departments where it obviously isn’t the priority.

A man died. And, if reforms aren’t made and followed up on, serious harm or death could happen again.

After all, what good are those top equity positions if equity isn’t actually being created for the Baltimore City workers who need it most? Lead from the front, and show your frontline workers that achieving equitable and safe workplaces for them is just as important for the folks who work in City Hall.