“We Can’t Do That”—City Attorney on CASE Ordinance
What is the CASE Ordinance, Anyway?
CASE Ordinance Hits Legal Wall as Charlotte Council Hesitates
By Jack Beckett | The Charlotte Mercury | cltmercury.com
On Tuesday night, workers from Charlotte Douglas International Airport poured into City Council chambers, many wearing union pins and exhaustion in equal measure. They didn’t ask for much—just to not live in their cars while wheeling passengers across one of the busiest airports in the world.
Their demand: the Council adopt the CASE ordinance, which would require higher wages, paid sick leave, and other basic benefits for subcontracted workers operating at CLT.
The city’s response? A full stop.
“We Can’t Do That.”
That was the message delivered bluntly by Interim City Attorney Anthony Fox, citing North Carolina’s broad preemption statutes. Specifically, §95-25.1 of the NC Wage and Hour Act, which bars municipalities from regulating private employee compensation, and §160A-20.1, which ties the city’s hands on public contracts.
“We’re not in West Virginia,” Fox added pointedly, referencing legal arguments made by the union that attempted to justify CASE by pointing to laws in other states.
SEIU 32BJ, the union representing many of the workers, has argued that Charlotte—acting as a landlord and operator of a public asset—has authority to require fair wages from vendors. Their memo to Council contends the city is acting in a “proprietary capacity” and therefore should be allowed to impose conditions like CASE.
Fox disagreed. Emphatically.
“This ordinance would insert you into a relationship the state has preempted,” he said. “That’s not a door you can legally open.”
The Council? Paralyzed.
Councilmember Victoria Watlington pushed back gently. “Unless this is urgent and needs to happen right now, I’d like to create some time for that investigation to occur.” She later added that the city needed to better understand “where the boundaries lie” before dismissing the policy outright.
Councilmember LaWana Mayfield went further. She asked if the Council could at least review procurement policy—specifically, the city’s habit of awarding contracts to the “lowest responsible bidder.” Could that be interpreted more generously to prioritize contractors who pay livable wages?
Fox said maybe, but that the entire framework is bounded by state statute. “There’s a lot of law on this,” he noted, carefully sidestepping definitive permission.
Councilmembers Johnson and Ashmera signaled support for a deeper review. But no motion was made. No committee assignment happened. The conversation eventually drifted, as it often does, to “maybe next time.”
“CASE Closed”?
No. But if you’re hoping for bold action, prepare for slow bureaucracy.
The workers who testified Tuesday—several of whom shared stories of homelessness and missed meals—left with little more than polite acknowledgments. Council praised their courage. Then moved on.
Legal dead ends aren’t new in North Carolina, where Dillon Rule governance gives the General Assembly the final word on nearly everything. But what happens when that legal reality crashes into moral urgency?
Charlotte may not be able to pass CASE. But it can still decide whether it wants to fight for it.
As of today, the most powerful voices in the room are the ones saying no.
☕ Jack Beckett
Senior Writer, The Charlotte Mercury
Once had a coffee so strong it short-circuited a City Council projector. Still worth it.
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