Charlotte Douglas International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the country but the workers who keep it running are underpaid, overworked, and left without basic protections.

At a recent Charlotte City Council meeting, airport employees bravely spoke out. They described unsafe working conditions, poverty wages, and extreme understaffing that leaves elderly and disabled passengers waiting for help. Some workers make as little as $12.50 an hour not nearly enough to live in one of the fastest-growing cities in America. Many are forced to live in their cars or with relatives just to survive.

City leaders heard their voices, but the Mayor refused to even open a committee hearing on the issue. That’s not leadership. That’s a failure to act.

We’re calling on Mayor Vi Lyles and the Charlotte City Council to take immediate steps to protect airport workers, starting with a public commitment to raise labor standards, improve safety, and ensure fair pay.

Workers at Charlotte Douglas deserve better. Our city should not stand by while full-time employees at a major economic engine are pushed into homelessness, poverty, and dangerous conditions.

Add your name if you believe no one should be treated this way especially not the people we trust to keep our city moving.

[Photo Credit: Erik Verduzco via AP News]