Workers Storm City Hall Over Budget

by Rachel Huysentruyt, 2009-06-17

Visitors to Civic Center Plaza around noon yesterday were treated to a bit of social drama, as two public employee unions -- SEIU Local 1021 and IAFF Local 798 -- faced off across Polk Street. At issue was the $82 million that the Board of Supervisors Budget Committee had moved from public safety to health and human services allocations in the City's revised interim budget. The full Board hearing was scheduled for that afternoon, and both sides had strong turnout. The firefighters and their families were in full force, while SEIU had gathered a diverse coalition including representatives from such groups as the Tenderloin Outpatient Clinic, Central City SRO Collaborative, the Chinatown Community Development Center and others. Each side made emotionally charged pleas for their positions, with firefighters’ children holding signs that read “Save My Dad’s Job,” and the SEIU coalition sporting stickers that read “Share the Burden!! Share the Cuts!!” The tension reached fever pitch two hours later in the City Hall rotunda, as the Supervisors started their meeting. Firefighters shouted to be let into the Board chambers (although Fire Code regulations prevent overcrowding), while the SEIU coalition had already filled up the room.

While Stevie Wonder blared from the firefighters’ stereo equipment in the plaza, speakers took the podium on the City Hall steps in defense of the reallocation of funds. SEIU’s Robert Haaland spoke first, calling for a “balanced solution” to the budget deficit, one in which “everyone is equitably sharing in the pain.”

He then introduced Debbi Lerman from the SF Human Services Network, who rattled off the various types of health and human services that would be reduced or eliminated if the reallocation failed to pass. Included were services directed at children, the aging and the mentally ill; homeless shelters; HIV/AIDS treatment; a $4 million cut to the Department of Public Health’s budget that will reach $8 million when annualized; and those “for whom the bell tolls” – programs that will be cut entirely. These programs included various types of the aforementioned, and comprised many vital community based services.

When Budget Committee chair John Avalos later took the stage, he faced firefighters across the street holding signs that demanded his recall. He acknowledged them briefly before stating his ongoing intent to spread the pains of the budget deficit equally amongst city agencies, and questioning Mayor Gavin Newsom’s recent statements about San Francisco’s “close to perfect” budget.

“I don’t think those comments were intended for the ears of San Francisco residents,” said Avalos said. “I think they were intended for voters in Orange County.”

As the SEIU coalition prepared to enter City Hall and make comments at the Supervisors’ budget hearing; the firefighters mingled in the plaza and spoke with the press.

“The Fire Department has been cut. The Police Department has been cut,” Local 198 president John Hanley told BeyondChron in response to the SEIU’s calls to share the burden. “You can’t cut where it affects the well-being of San Francisco. Closing firehouses, letting cops go home, closing a jail – that’s not right.”

Many will agree with him. But many will also agree with Brenda Barros, Senior Unit Clerk of Adult Medicine at SF General Hospital. She spoke of 20 patients, all in pain, needing immediate services of the one dental aide still funded in her hospital.

“I understand the firemen across the street,” she said. “But the patients they bring to SF General need staff to care for them. That staff is being eliminated. Those patients’ needs are more important than someone’s overtime.”

UPDATE BY PAUL HOGARTH:


Photo by Chris Roberts of SF Appeal.

The SEIU rally ended around 1:00 p.m., and participants went into City Hall to line up for the 2:00 p.m. Board meeting. As is always the case when City Hall hearings get crowded, Deputy Sheriffs insisted per Fire Code regulations that no one enter the chambers unless they had a seat. SEIU and its coalition members quietly lined up in the hallway, as they waited for the doors to open.

The tension escalated, however, after the Firefighters Union ended their rally -- and stormed up the grand staircase into the City Hall rotunda. Facing the closed double doors of the Board chambers, the firefighters shouted “Let us in!! Let us in!!” -- as SEIU members yelled back “Get in line!! Get in line!!” At one point, some SEIU members felt the need to lock arms and stand in front of the Board chambers -- as it appeared like the Firefighters could imminently force themselves into the Board meeting ahead of everyone else.

At 2:00 p.m., the Sheriffs started escorting members of the public who had lined up into the Board Chambers, as seats became available. The firefighters never got in line, but continued to chant while the Board meeting began inside. President David Chiu had to ask them to be quiet, so the meeting could come to order. Within less than an hour, the firefighters had left -- except one who went inside to give public comment. The Supervisors then held a state-mandated Beilenson Hearing, where they heard testimony on public health cuts.

The Board of Supervisors voted 7-3 to uphold the Budget Committee's recommendation, amending the City's interim budget.