More than 2,000 City union members and labor supporters rallied at San Francisco City Hall last Wednesday, June 4, to protest Mayor Daniel Lurie’s budget, which would lay off over 100 union members and eliminate well over 1,000 vacant positions. Every single one of those positions is needed to provide the services San Francisco residents depend on.

“The real deficit is being driven by rich corporations who benefit from our work,” explained SEIU 1021 President Theresa Rutherford to the crowd who lined the front steps.

She was referring to the more than $415 million in City funds currently tied up by pending lawsuits in the San Francisco courts from companies like Airbnb, Uber, and Lyft who are trying to get out of paying their taxes. That money is held in a litigation reserve until the lawsuits are either dropped or resolved.

“We are demanding that these corporations that benefit form our work, from San Francisco, from the services that we deliver every day pay their fair share, because the budget will not be balanced on our backs,” continued Rutherford. 

Committed to the cause, hundreds of union members took personal time off work to stay for the Board of Supervisors’ budget hearing. Dozens lined up to give public comment on the impacts the mayor’s budget cuts will have, both on those being laid off and on the services their departments provide. SEIU 1021 member Judy Sorro, one of the workers who has received a notice that she might be laid off, was among them.

Sorro has dedicated two decades to working with a program called City Build that helps train SF residents in the skilled trades to enter well-paid union careers in construction. Although her own job is on the line, her main concern is for the San Francisco residents who might not get that help anymore. 

“I got a phone call last Friday saying I hate to tell you but you’re going to be laid off,” shared Sorro. “If this program is lost, there will be a lot of people who won’t be able to survive in this city. This is a program to uplift people, and if you take that away, you’ll just have a city for millionaires or vacationers. It’s going to look pretty, but you’re going to lose the heart and soul of San Francisco.”

Now is the time to keep the pressure on. The decision is in the Board of Supervisors’ hands. As Supervisor Shamann Walton said, layoffs are not even close to necessary at this time.

Just this week, the San Francisco Democratic Party issued a statement urging the mayor and the Board of Supervisors to close the deficit without layoffs: “These workers are more than line items on a spreadsheet. They are the human infrastructure of our local government.”

We’re committed to keep fighting to stop every single layoff and make sure San Francisco residents get the public services they need.

Click here to tell the Board of Supervisors: No layoffs!