A raucous Charlotte City Council meeting Monday night saw Charlotte Area Transit System workers and city employees ask city leaders for more money and more safety.
Community activist Kass Otley said during the public comment session that many workers don’t make enough to live in Charlotte.
“There are people in this room that work two and three jobs and they’re asking for a living wage for their families so they can be able to live and thrive in the city they work so hard to keep beautiful,” Otley said.
CATS driver and union representative Renee Holzbach said she and other employees are worried about violent incidents while at work.
“I’m a victim of assault on the bus,” Holzbach said. “My nose was broken I was attacked. I didn’t even know the person. He did not know me. He just walked on the bus and he broke my nose. The problem here is that we have a safety issue.”
After the public comments, Charlotte mayor Vi Lyles said council members would take what they heard to heart during the budgeting process.
“We want to see our city workers be a part of our entire community and that means we have to treat you with respect just like we do any other person that works in this community and so that’s going to give us something to think about in the next couple of weeks as we put together our ideas of what we should be doing,” Lyles said.
The Charlotte City Workers Union rallied in front the Government Center before the meeting Monday night.
CATS CEO John Lewis said in a statement last week that the transit system is working to address safety concerns in the wake of bus driver Ethan Rivera being shot and killed last month while on duty.
Police announced Tuesday that a suspect had been arrestedin Rivera's slaying.
See the full February 28 Charlotte City Council meeting here:
