Rain didn't stop members of the community from coming out to support the Asheville Fire Fighters Association's fight for higher and equitable pay over the weekend. On Sept. 12, members of the association, family and friends gathered in Pack Square, holding signs, asking the city for higher wages. In several social media posts, the association says Asheville City Council voted to pay city employees $15 per hour earlier in 2020. They say that decision left out 77 firefighters who still make less than $15 per hour. Scott Mullins, the association's president, says the $11.65 an hour firefighters make is not enough for the work they do.
"Councils says they appreciate the work that we do but their budget says otherwise," Mullins told News 13 on Saturday. "So when we look at their budget it shows us they don't appreciate the actual work we firefighters do."