In wake of blizzard
Baltimore workers need emergency fund
By Sharon Black
Baltimore
As of March 3, it has been 15 days since one of Baltimore's
worst snowstorms dumped close to two feet of snow on the area.
Despite two periods of rain and thawing, high mounds of dirty
snow clog the city streets, making commutes and walks difficult
and dangerous.
While the Pentagon can mount a war effort that includes
deploying some 225,000 soldiers to invade Iraq and spending
millions of dollars on "homeland security," Baltimore cannot
plow its secondary streets.
There was no effective plan or organization in place when
the storm struck the mid-Atlantic states. Keeping major
highways and arteries open was set as the priority out of
concern for businesses.
But there was no real provision made for workers and the
poor. No block-to-block emergency plan. No efforts for the
homeless and the aged beyond the already overtaxed
shelters.
Baltimore's infrastructure, which was already worn and
tattered, buckled and in some cases collapsed under the stress
of the storm.
In violation of the national Clean Water Act, more than 35
million gallons of raw sewage spilled into the Herring Run
stream that flows through Baltimore. Old water mains and sewage
pipes burst in many neighborhoods, creating health hazards.
And in Baltimore's Eastside, an entire block was evacuated
as homes exploded from a natural gas leak.
Five people were reported dead from storm-related causes,
including three children who were tragically poisoned by carbon
monoxide fumes inside a car where they were trying to keep
warm.
Create emergency fund
Local governments will be assessing the damage. They can
apply for 75 percent of the costs under federal laws. But what
about the thousands of workers who have suffered tremendous
losses not covered by insurance?
The first demand should be that workers be compensated for
lost wages. Many could not travel to work because of the
snow-covered streets and no public transportation. These
workers live paycheck to paycheck. And many do not have
adequate union contracts.
With a winter of unprecedented increases in the cost of oil
and natural gas, many individuals and families will face
utility shutoffs in the early spring. The government should
declare a moratorium on all utility shutoffs.
Workers must also be allowed compensation for the loss of
personal property. An adequate emergency plan should be made
for the homeless, aged, disabled and young.
And the federal government must immediately help rebuild
Baltimore's old, decaying infrastructure.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfield has said that revealing
the actual cost of the genocidal U.S. war about to be unleashed
on Iraq "simply isn't useful." The needs of the people of
Baltimore challenge this cynical statement.
Every man and woman from Maryland about to be used as cannon
fodder for Big Oil should be brought back home to rebuild the
communities of Maryland. And the billions of dollars about to
be spent on death and destruction should be used for people's
needs.
Reprinted from the March 13, 2003, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyrighted
under a Creative
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