Activists urge city council to block airport expansion

SEIU

Service workers march past Charlotte Douglas International Airport during a 2023 rally. Airport service workers want Charlotte City Council to vote down an airport proposal to expand, which they say uses outdated noise assessments and lacks community engagement.

Service workers at Charlotte Douglas International Airport want city council to deny an airport plan they say would benefit one of the nation’s biggest air carriers while removing access to a potential affordable housing site.

Workers plan to rally Dec. 9 to protest Charlotte Douglas’ proposal, which the contend relies on outdated noise assessments and overlooks community engagement. The service workers, who have been demanding increased wages and work conditions at the airport will be joined by labor groups Workers United and UNITE HERE as well as the Housing Justice Coalition.

Charlotte-Douglas leaders introduced the proposal to expand the airport, which would entail buying homes and other properties. Critics want the council to vote down the proposal and instead allow an independent assessment of noise levels and give constituents an opportunity to weigh in on policy.

“I’ve been homeless,” said Tim Lowe, a wheelchair agent at Charlotte Douglas. “And recently I had to sleep in my storage unit because that was all I could afford. The city council needs to stop letting major corporations like American Airlines ravage our communities and make it impossible for locals to survive while they rake in record revenue and get handouts to expand the airport.”

Charlotte Douglas is a major economic engine for the region and expanding the facility would benefit American Airlines, which the largest domestic air carrier. American accounts for 90% of enplanements at CLT, which is a major profit center for the airline.

An estimated 40% of airport service workers report that they are housing insecure, which activists contend will become worse with accelerated airport development and substandard wages paid by airport contractors.

“Charlotte Airport uses its function as a public entity in order to enrich multibillion dollar corporations such as American Airlines and its service providers,” said Jimmy Vasiliou, member of the Housing Justice Coalition. “It’s vital to have workers join with community voices to connect how the public actions of CLT benefit private airlines at the expense of Charlotteans who both live around and work in the airport.”

Comments