Hundreds of San Francisco City Workers Rallied Against Outsourcing at SF General Hospital

Amidst the City's rejection of their latest demands to stop wasteful contracting out, city workers came together to say: "We don't want to go on strike, but all options are on the table."

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- On Friday, February 16, over 500 San Francisco city workers represented by SEIU 1021, IFPTE Local 21, and other City unions rallied outside of San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center to shed light on the dangerous impacts of understaffing. In bargaining with City unions, the City administration has recently rejected demands to prevent wasteful spending on contracting out.

Photos and videos available for use: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/1x88llbxne5zaweo9z159/h?rlkey=2k9v65ix4auaemhqksm6qnd17&dl=0

Livestream available here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3bCAnxuPA7/ 

The City spends on average $5.2 billion each year on contracts—and the vast majority of these dollars are awarded to contractors based outside of San Francisco. At least one in 10 contract requests are due to lack of staff.

"We know firsthand that this hospital has reported that its nurses have missed over 16,000 breaks. We're just asking for a bite of food during a 12-hour shift," said Heather Bollinger, RN (she/her), registered nurse at SFGH and SEIU 1021 RN chapter president. "We love our jobs and we love taking care of our community. We continue to show up everyday. It's time for the City to show up for us, staff up, and stop bringing people in on short-term contracts that we cannot afford, and invest in the people who have proven that they will stay."

"A short-staffed hospital means our patients are waiting longer for care, and in some cases going unseen," said Zach Vickers (he/him), physical therapist at SFGH and IFPTE Local 21 member. "We serve San Francisco's most vulnerable populations. We are their safety net and without our care they suffer. Our patients deserve better and the city needs to staff up."

In attendance were City and County of San Francisco employees represented by SEIU 1021, IFPTE Local 21, Teamsters 856, IBEW Local 6, UA Local 38, IATSE Local 16, SMW Local 104, Laborers' Local 261, Stationary Engineers Local 39, TWU Local 250-A.

BACKGROUND: http://www.FixSFNow.org/background

The Public Employee Committee of the San Francisco Labor Council brings together over 30,000 dedicated public service workers among 26 unions.

SOURCE IFPTE Local 21