Around 50 firefighters rallied outside of Charleston City Hall on Tuesday. They want a pay raise.
The firefighters say other local agencies like Mount Pleasant and North Charleston have a higher starting pay. Now, they want to see a change. A month ago, the City of Charleston did a compensation survey. The city proposed giving city employees a 22 percent raise and first responders a 5 percent raise. "The city states that a livable wage in the city is $16.50 to $17.65 an hour. Our starting wage for a fireman with a high school diploma is $12.88," said Biran Axelrod, President of Local 61 Charleston Firefighter Association. Axelrod thinks they may not receive a larger raise because they have built-in overtime. But, he contends that isn't fair.
He explains how some Charleston firefighters can barely make ends meet.