Protesters rally in Midtown against Duke Energy and Atrium Health, calling for an end to “corporate greed”

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Protesters with groups including Indivisible Charlotte, The Redress Movement, the Reimagining Project, One Meck and Health Care Justice-NC, gathered in Midtown at Pearl Street Park on Friday, calling for an end to corporate greed. The group rallied against Atrium Health and Duke Energy, protesting Duke’s proposed 18 percent rate hike for customers after record profits and Atrium’s 20-story luxury apartment development tied to taxpayer dollars.

Greg Jarrell with The Redress Movement Charlotte says, “Their workers won’t be able to afford to live in the apartment tower that they’re building. The people who draw your blood, the people who clean your and sanitize the hospital, the people who carry you to the CAT scan won’t be able to afford to live close to their job. Atrium Health has prioritized profit in that luxury housing over the people in our county that need and are desperate for affordable housing.”

The group of protesters is calling on Atrium to make 20% of those units affordable for people making less than the area median income. They also want those units to be affordable for 50 years. Right now, Atrium is only guaranteeing that they will be affordable for 20 years.