While the Chapel Hill Town Council discussed land use amendments and special use permit modifications, one voice rang louder than those of any of the presenters: a silent protest.
A group of more than twenty protestors, including town workers, UNC students, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People members and local residents walked into the council chambers at 7:15 p.m. Monday and encircled the rear half of the room to stand resolutely for exactly one hour of silence.
The protest was a response to the town’s decision to place two solid waste employees — Kerry Bigelow and Clyde Clark —on administrative leave with what protestors called a “denial of due process.”
Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt said he knew of the event in advance and spoke with protestors as they gathered outside before the public hearing began, giving them permission to protest but asking them not to interrupt the meeting’s business.
“It’s the people’s space here,” Kleinschmidt said. “This is the kind of town we are.”
Boasting signs stating “Workers rights are human rights,” “Justice for C. Hill town workers,” and “Collective bargaining: public employee’s voice at work,” the protesters sported green cloth pieces tied around their upper arms — a symbol of the two sanitation workers’ uniforms.
Bigelow said the town placed Clark and him on paid administrative leave Sept. 18, but he said he doesn’t know the specific charges against him.
Town Manager Roger Stancil is currently investigating Bigelow and Clark’s cases but was not at the hearing for comment.
Bigelow, who has worked as a solid waste collector for the town for three years, said he was passed over for a promotion and wrote a grievance to the town addressing his situation. Neither he nor Clark, who did not attend the protest, knows when they will be put back to work.
