Our AFT Maryland family has been hit hard. Since Thanksgiving, we have been mourning the tragic loss of our brother Gregory Turnipseed, a 14-year Baltimore City Department of Transportation employee and proud member of the City Union of Baltimore who lost his life after being assaulted on the job. Mr. Turnipseed represented the best of us. A dedicated public servant who showed up every day to help others. His life and service exemplified the very best of our city workforce.
As we remember Mr. Turnipseed, we also remind all our members of our steadfast commitment to worker safety and to the fight ahead. No one should ever go to work with the fear of losing their life.
Our members deserve more than condolences. They deserve answers, action, and the safe working conditions every worker is entitled to. And that is why our City Union of Baltimore President Antoinette Ryan-Johnson has been across the airwaves speaking out in the wake of Mr. Turnipseed’s passing, ensuring the city understands that we will not rest until we see the reforms that guarantee every worker has the protections and safety they deserve.
Workers across the city have been vocal for years that preventable deaths, injuries, and violent assaults on the job cannot become the norm in Baltimore. We have lost too many lives because of negligence, ignored safety protocols, and a lack of accountability. Enough is enough.
We are calling on City Hall to take immediate steps to address the long-standing safety failures that workers have raised and to strengthen and enforce the protections that keep employees safe. This means accountability, proper training and policies, and a safety system that takes workers’ concerns seriously and acts on them.
Our union will not let up. We will continue to work closely with city leadership, state legislators, and council members to secure stronger worker-safety laws, training, staffing, and enforcement. We will make clear that losing another worker – to violence, to unsafe conditions, or to preventable hazards – is something we will never accept. Mr. Turnipseed deserved better. All city workers deserve better. And we will not stop until Baltimore meets its responsibility to protect the people who serve this city every single day.
We are holding Gregory Turnipseed’s family, friends, and colleagues in our hearts, and we are standing together – united in grief, united in purpose, and united in action.
In solidarity,
Kenya Campbell
AFT Maryland President