Strike imminent as Tenderloin Housing Clinic workers host picket sign-making party at their union hall
After months of bargaining, workers are calling on management and the City and County of San Francisco to help frontline supportive housing workers stay afloat
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, July 20, 2022
Contact: Andrew Baker, 510-679-8420
(San Francisco, CA) After months of bargaining and as inflation and cost of living continue to climb, workers at the city-funded nonprofit Tenderloin Housing Clinic (THC) are at a breaking point. On Wednesday, July 20 at 6 pm they will host a picket sign-making party, signaling that a first-of-its-kind strike at a supportive housing nonprofit may be imminent unless meaningful progress is made in negotiations.
Workers say two things need to happen. First, Randy Shaw and THC management must be transparent with their finances and address staff proposals to improve employee mental health, burnout, and turnover—all of which have an impact on resident services. Second, because THC receives its funding from the City and County, workers are calling on elected leaders to allocate enough money to address wage compaction and provide meaningful pay increases for the entire workforce. The workers’ demands are in line with the key findings of a May 2022 report from the City Controller’s office.
WHAT: Picket sign making party and strike preparations for THC workers
WHEN: Wednesday, July 20 at 6 pm
WHERE: 350 Rhode Island St Suite #100, San Francisco, CA 94103
VISUALS: Workers at their union hall wearing union shirts decorating picket signs, practicing chants, giving pep talks. Workers will be available for 1:1 interviews.
Background
THC staff does critical work to keep San Francisco’s homelessness and supportive housing system functioning. They work as desk clerks, janitors, case workers, maintenance staff, and more at 24 of the city’s Single-Room Occupancy hotels (SROs).
Earlier this year, THC workers voted overwhelmingly by over 99% to authorize their bargaining team to call for a strike if sufficient progress wasn’t made at the bargaining table. The move to begin strike preparations signals that a strike is likely imminent absent any meaningful progress. A date for the strike has not been set but a strike could be called at any moment.
Tenderloin Housing Clinic is a city-funded nonprofit and so workers are also calling on the city to provide enough funding to address wage compaction and provide for adequate pay increases. Wage compaction occurs when the minimum pay is lifted to a certain dollar amount, but no action is taken to lift the pay of people who have already been doing that job possibly at or above that newly set amount. This leads to long-tenured staff with years or even a decade or more of service training new hires who are earning the same or a similar hourly amount as them.
Currently, very little information is being provided by City and County of San Francisco leaders or the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing on how proposed new funding will lift the wages of all supportive housing workers. A $25/hour minimum wage for case managers has been proposed, but no details have been shared on how additional funding will translate to wage increases for front desk clerks, janitors, counselors, maintenance staff, or others. All of these workers are essential to keeping the system running.