By Vanguard Staff
SAN FRANCISCO — Hundreds of workers, residents, labor unions and community organizations gathered on the steps of San Francisco City Hall this week to protest proposed budget cuts they say would undermine the city’s recovery and weaken essential services relied upon by some of San Francisco’s most vulnerable residents.
The rally brought together frontline city workers, nonprofit employees, domestic workers, service workers, educators, tenants, immigrants and union members affiliated with organizations including SEIU 1021, SEIU 2015, Free City College, AFT 2121, the San Francisco Labor Council and OPEIU 29, alongside a broad coalition of community groups.
Participants warned that the proposed budget reductions would jeopardize hundreds of city and nonprofit jobs while cutting deeply into programs supporting housing stability, behavioral health, food security, youth and family services, homelessness prevention, education, immigrant assistance, HIV/AIDS programs, services for seniors and people with disabilities, and community-based public safety initiatives.
Advocates argued that reducing these services would not eliminate underlying needs but instead transfer costs to emergency rooms, shelters, crisis response systems and the justice system, ultimately costing the city more.
“We’re standing here today as the People’s Budget Coalition to demand full restoration of the critical services our community needs. This is a wealthy city, but it is choosing to cut services to the most vulnerable instead of taxing billionaires,” said Anya Worley-Ziegmann of the People’s Budget Coalition.
“But this fight is far from done,” Worley-Ziegmann continued. “We stand in complete utter unity with our labor partners because we are one in the same. Every San Francisco worker is a member of our community and together we demand a restoration of every cut to vital city programs. Our supervisors will be judged this year not by what they fund but what they cut. Every cut sends a message that San Francisco workers, San Francisco residents, will not forget.”
Speakers throughout the rally urged city leaders to pursue alternatives before reducing frontline services or eliminating jobs. They cited police overtime expenditures, jail expansion, the city’s RESET Center, administrative spending and ongoing tax disputes involving major technology companies as potential areas for review.
“San Francisco is a city built by the people, and the people deserve not only to survive but to thrive, and having vibrant cultural institutions is vital to thriving,” said Teddy Vollman, president of Cal Academy Workers United.
“The people deserve a California Academy of Sciences which is not being hollowed out by millionaires who treat it as their own personal piggy bank,” Vollman said. “By auditing its financials, City Hall can ensure this icon of San Francisco will be there for the people for decades to come.”
The demonstration took place as city officials entered the final stages of budget negotiations. Organizers contended that layoffs and service reductions would create a dual burden by increasing unemployment while simultaneously diminishing programs residents depend upon to remain housed, healthy and economically secure.
“This week, faculty are welcoming students into summer classes amid the hope and possibility that City College represents,” said Lizzie Brock, an AFT 2121 faculty member and English instructor at City College of San Francisco.
“But now, hanging over that first day is a proposed fall cut that could make it harder for vulnerable students to stay in school,” Brock said. “Every semester, faculty work with students who are one unexpected bill away from dropping out. Free City helps students stay in class, buy books, cover basic needs, and keep moving toward their goals. Our students are doing everything they can to succeed. The City should be doing everything it can to make it possible.”
Advocates framed the budget debate as a reflection of San Francisco’s broader values, arguing that local leaders should strengthen protections for marginalized communities rather than pursue what organizers repeatedly characterized as austerity measures.
The rally was part of the Fight 4 Our San Francisco Week of Action, which organizers said would continue with additional events at Civic Center, including performances, community art activities, a resource fair, displays of sections of the AIDS Quilt and a press conference outside Board of Supervisors chambers as supervisors continue deliberations over the city’s budget.
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