Mayor Lurie Says He's Laying Off 500 SF City Hall Employees, Which Will Not Endear Him to the Labor Unions

"Lurie says he will have to eliminate at least 500 San Francisco City Hall jobs. The Chronicle cites an email from Lurie's budget director Sophia Kittler in which she tells various City Hall departments that SF 'cannot afford to sustain current spending on personnel costs' and that 'meeting this target requires eliminating filled positions.'"

"Last year, Lurie supposedly eliminated 1,400 City Hall jobs but it was a head-count and accounting trick in which he simply eliminated unfilled positions. This year, the administration seems to be saying that the job losses will be actual pink slips assigned to real human beings."

"The Chronicle frames this all as a test for Lurie's relative popularity, as he's got impending showdowns coming with unions and organized labor. These layoffs will most definitely piss off the public-sector unions, plus Lurie has upcoming labor negotiations with the police union and other City Hall labor groups."

Mayor Daniel Lurie faces significant budget challenges requiring the elimination of at least 500 City Hall positions to address San Francisco's nearly $1 billion deficit. Unlike last year's approach using accounting adjustments to eliminate unfilled positions, this year's cuts will involve actual layoffs of employed workers. Budget director Sophia Kittler's email to departments states the city cannot sustain current personnel spending levels and must eliminate filled positions. These cuts differ from the recent teachers' strike, where superintendent Dr. Maria Su bore the political burden while Lurie maintained a neutral facilitator role. The layoffs will likely create conflict with public-sector unions and complicate upcoming labor negotiations with police and other City Hall unions, potentially damaging Lurie's political standing.

Read at sfist.com