UMD falling short on worker safety, union says

After several University of Maryland housekeepers fell ill from working in dorms without air conditioning, officials announced three measures last Friday to accommodate employees continuing to work in buildings with deactivated HVAC systems. While the union that represents workers on campus called the university’s response a “small amount of progress.” AFSCME 1072 interim president Todd Holden said the union and the workers have grown extremely frustrated. “Even as this rolls along, the workers are still having to report and they’re still having to deal with the circumstances. The university, at any moment, has the power and the ability to make sure that they’re not placed in that environment again,” he said. “We would just expect that they do better.” Adapted from a report in The Diamondback.

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