A day after longtime Department of Public Works employee Trina Cunningham died falling into a water filtration system at the Patapsco Wastewater Treatment Plant, a union representing thousands of city employees is questioning the facility’s safety protocols.
Cunningham, a DPW supervisor of several years and an employee at the Wagners Point plant for two decades, went missing Monday shortly before 7 p.m., outlets reported. Her body was found in a vat of water shortly thereafter.
City officials identified her Tuesday afternoon.
“Ms. Cunningham was employed by the City of Baltimore for over 20 years. She will be missed by her immediate family, friends and her DPW family,” the labor commissioner’s office said in a Facebook post, sharing a photo of the smiling late staffer.
The City Union of Baltimore, which represents about 5,000 municipal and city school system employees, issued a statement today saying, “all of us here… are deeply saddened at the tragic death of Trina Cunningham. Beyond being a CUB member and faithful employee of the city of Baltimore she was a wife, mother, sister, and daughter. Each of her colleagues spoke highly of her commitment and dedication to the job. It pains us that a person with so much life ahead of them dies so young and tragically.”
The union added that her death “calls into question workplace safety protocols for the women and men who make sure our public works are safe for us.”
“While this is the first fatality at this facility that we know of, any fatality at the workplace is unacceptable. Our employees deserve to have working conditions that are fully compliant with state and federal regulations.”
DPW spokesman Jeffrey Raymond said via email that investigations are underway.
The agency’s director, Rudy Chow, said at an unrelated press conference earlier Tuesday that Cunningham’s death “is a great loss to the department.” He characterized her as “a very dedicated, committed employee,” and mentioned she was a previous employee of the month awardee.
But pressed for details by WBAL-TV’s Jayne Miller, who brought up that fire officials reportedly said a grate was missing from a catwalk Cunningham had been using, Chow said the case is still under investigation. “We don’t have all the pieces yet.”
Fire department spokeswoman Blair Adams told WJZ-TV two items were found on the landing from which Cunningham may have fallen: a walkie talkie and a glove.
The city employees union said it’s awaiting the findings of the investigation into her death.
“Pending those results we look forward to working with AFSCME”—the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, an international labor union with offices and a local chapter in Baltimore—”and the Office of the Labor Commissioner to ensure each and every worksite is safe and healthy for city employees.”
This story has been updated.
