**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**

Contacts: Jennie Smith-Camejo, jennie.smith-camejo@seiu1021.org, (510) 710-0201 (for SEIU 1021)
Juliana Park, jpark@ifpte21.org, (408) 921-2187 (for IFPTE Local 21)
Michael Redmond, michael@theworkeragency.org, (415) 235-0597 (for People’s Budget Coalition)

Over 2,000 San Francisco city workers, representatives of community based organizations, and concerned community members flooded the front steps of City Hall Wednesday, June 4, holding signs that read “Protect Public Services! No Cuts! No Layoffs!” and chanting, “Fair budget now!” Hundreds then waited in line to fill the chambers to maximum capacity to speak out at the first Budget and Appropriations Committee hearing following the release of Mayor Lurie’s budget.

The mayor’s budget lays off over 100 City workers, which includes those who do critical job training for our city’s workforce, criminologists, and many more who serve residents every single day. In addition to the layoffs of current City employees, the mayor’s budget would eliminate 1400 positions and make huge cuts to contracts with community based organizations that provide essential services to San Francisco residents and small businesses. The mayor has publicly claimed his budget prioritizes homelessness and mental health, clean streets, and public safety — yet departments, positions, and contracts critical to addressing these issues are facing cuts. The mayor has so far not used his connections or platforms to urge the corporations like Airbnb to drop the lawsuits responsible for over half of the city’s current deficit.

Photos and videos from rally and public comment at the hearing available here.

“We work every day to make sure that San Francisco’s most vulnerable residents get the food they need to survive,” said Jessica Ponce, Program Coordinator with All My Usos. “These cuts come at the expense of the marginalized, the working class, families, people of color, the people who make this city such a special place to live. No one should go to bed hungry in the wealthiest city in the world — we’re calling on the Mayor and Board of Supervisors to put community first and protect this funding for critical services.”

La Rhonda Reddic, a Program Coordinator for HOPE SF who was born and raised in San Francisco, also received one of the layoff notices. “After 20 years, the City is proposing to cut the Hope SF program. We are here standing together to fight, to continue to support our residents with mental health services” HOPE SF projects aim to change systems and shift power to ensure San Francisco is a racially and economically inclusive city.

“Families living in SROs and substandard conditions need our support,” said Juan Garcia with Chinatown Community Development Center. “Our program makes sure there’s culturally and language component outreach to people living in the worst conditions- these cuts will mean more seniors and families living with mold, with pests, in danger of collapsed roofs and building fires. While Mayor Lurie is focused on luxury condos and high-end commercial office buildings, there are people living in substandard housing conditions across the city who will suffer under these cuts. We demand the Mayor and Board of Supervisors restore this desperately needed funding for essential programs that keep residents safe.

“For 19 years, I have worked for the CityBuild program. We provide low-income San Francisco residents the opportunity to learn skills through pre-apprenticeship programs that then enable them to get well-paid careers in the skilled trades,” said Judy Sorro, who is on the layoff list. “We help people get not just jobs, but actual careers that allow them to stay in San Francisco. I’ve seen people buy houses; I’ve seen people come out of prison who have totally changed their lives. We know San Francisco natives are being pushed out and made homeless by gentrification and unaffordability. This work is crucial to maintaining the fabric of our community. But the mayor’s budget guts our department by over 40%. Does this mayor care at all about helping San Francisco natives stay in the city they were born in and love? Or does he want this to be a playground for millionaires?”

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