San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s relationship with unions gets complicated
The article discusses the developing tensions between San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie and labor unions following a recent city council meeting. During the meeting, police removed approximately a dozen protesting union workers who were expressing dissatisfaction with Lurie’s plans to cut around 100 jobs as a means to address an $800 million budget deficit. The protest, which drew over 100 workers, was fueled by concerns over Lurie’s proposals to eliminate meaningful funding for nonprofit organizations and introduce austerity measures.
Unions have been vocal about their opposition, calling for the reduction of what they perceive as “wasteful” private contracts while urging the mayor to preserve all currently filled positions. Several Board of Supervisors members expressed support for the protesters, suggesting choice budget solutions. Critics are labeling Lurie’s handling of this situation as a failure, arguing he missed an possibility to make significant changes due to his concessions to union demands.
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s relationship with unions gets complicated
Police arrested and removed nearly a dozen union workers protesting Mayor Daniel Lurie during a San Francisco City Hall meeting on Tuesday, showing the new mayor’s rocky relationship with Big Labor.
More than 100 workers in attendance were upset with Lurie’s plan to eliminate around 100 jobs and hundreds of vacant positions as part of his plan to close an $800 million budget deficit.
They also took issue with Lurie’s decision to slash $185 million in nonprofit organization and contract funding and impose other austerity measures to close the gap.
Unions have been demanding Lurie slash more “wasteful” private contracts and are calling on the mayor to trim what they describe as “top-heavy” management, while keeping all 100 of the currently filled positions.
Protesters were so loud at Tuesday’s event that at one point, the Board of Supervisors was forced to go on a 30-minute recess.
Protesters held up signs that said “no cuts, no layoffs” while chanting “whose city? our city!” Some put their fists in the air, anticipating that the police would arrest and carry them out. Others from SEIU Local 1021 and IFPTE Local 21 screamed, “When public services are under attack, what do we do? Stand up! Fight back!” according to Mission Local.
Some members of the Board of Supervisors seemed sympathetic to the protesters and suggested that the city could fill the gap elsewhere. District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan, the budget chairwoman, said she would work to identify redundancies across city departments, reduce vacant management positions, and possibly eliminate the so-called “top-heavy” management positions.
Still, there are others who argue Lurie, a billionaire heir with no prior experience as an elected official, could have used the opportunity to make real change, but instead caved to the unions by only eliminating 100 filled positions.
“This moment represents Lurie’s first major failure as mayor,” the San Francisco Standard Editor-at-large Adam Lashinsky said. “The fact is, there was no better time for him to spend his political capital to win significant concessions from labor, which is responsible for a large portion of the city’s out-of-control budget. Not only is he popular and enjoying the support of a moderate-majority Board of Supervisors, he justifiably could have blamed a round of tough cuts on his predecessor, London Breed, who gave labor a raise during an election year and repeatedly used accounting gimmicks to balance her budgets.”
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Instead, Lashinsky said Lurie “cut just enough to buy peace with the unions.”
Calls to Lurie for comment were not returned.
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