They say they have been habitually mistreated and intimidated, and have few meaningful ways to make their complaints heard without fear of reprisal.

They say they are trapped by a New York City Council that has fostered an environment where misconduct, harassment and abuse are tolerated, saying that the last straw was the Council’s decision this week not to expel Councilman Andy King, despite findings that he had intimidated his staff and misused city resources.

Now, in an open letter to the Council and its speaker, Corey Johnson, more than 100 current and former employees are calling for sweeping changes that better protect the well-being and safety of those who work for the legislative body.

“Over the years, certain council members have regularly mistreated, intimidated and underpaid staff, while members are given near-unlimited discretion over the treatment of their staff,” the letter says. “We have few avenues to meaningfully launch complaints without fear of retaliation or intimidation.”