Charlotte gives $7 million rent break to airport companies as workers lose insurance
Charlotte City Council voted Monday night to give HMSHost and other concessions companies at the airport a $7 million break on rent payments without requiring them to keep furloughed employees on health insurance.
That means roughly 700 people — employees and their families — could lose their health insurance on June 4 after more than two months of furlough amid the new coronavirus, according to Unite Here Local 23, the union that represents HMSHost workers at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
City council had deferred the vote on the rent relief package for almost a week after HMSHost employees protested giving the company a financial boost while they lose insurance.
Lifelong Charlotte resident William Voltz told city council last week he has worked for HMSHost for 12 years as a warehouse supervisor. He’s been working part-time during the COVID-19 pandemic, but could still lose his health insurance through HMSHost this week.
