Resident urges council to press for raises and retro pay for Akron transportation operators

Sean Apostillett, a resident who spoke during the council’s public comment period, asked Akron City Council to advocate for higher pay and benefits for the city’s public transportation operators and support staff and said those workers have not received raises in over two years. Apostillett said operators and support staff lack sick, holiday and vacation pay, have not received retroactive pay tied to the COVID period and have been denied raises, while agency leadership receives bonuses. “They get nothing, and it’s not fair,” Apostillett said. Nut graf: Apostillett framed his remarks as a request for council advocacy on behalf of transit operators and support staff, asking elected members to press city leadership to address pay and benefits; he also raised several personal complaints about hospital care and local oversight bodies. Apostillett also told the council he is a senior living at 697 East Waterloo Road and said he has experienced denials of medical services and problems with police oversight and court records. “When I go in the emergency room, they’re giving me medicine that they know will make me sick,” he said. He asked the council to investigate those matters but did not identify specific hospitals, police officers, or cases for the council to review. Discussion versus decision: Apostillett’s remarks were part of the public comment period; the transcript records no council response or formal direction to staff on these specific requests during the meeting. Ending: The public comment period closed after Apostillett and one other speaker; no follow-up item or motion related to his requests was recorded on the meeting transcript.