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Committee restores most of IHSS wage increase, forwards interim budget to full Board
Summary
The Budget & Appropriations Committee approved an amendment to restore 75% of a Minimum Compensation Ordinance (MCO) wage increase for In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) workers, funding it through a corresponding reduction in a curb-ramp capital line, and forwarded items 1–3 to the full Board with a positive recommendation. Public commenters urged immediate implementation.
Chair Sandra Lee Feuer said the committee would move forward with an amendment negotiated with the mayor's budget office and the comptroller that ‘‘will restore 75% of the wage increase for IHSS workers through the Minimum Compensation Ordinance beginning September 1.’’ The amendment, read into the record by Feuer, increases the Human Services interim budget for fiscal year 2020–21 by $2,001,503 for MCO increases for IHSS employees and reduces a curb-ramp capital project by a corresponding amount (the transcript record included inconsistent figures for the reduction).
Feuer framed the amendment as a continuation of prior board action expanding compensation for home-care providers; she thanked the mayor’s budget office and the controller for working with her office to reach the proposal. President Norman Yee and Supervisor Hillary Ronan voiced support on the committee record, thanking staff and emphasizing the need to protect low-wage frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Three public callers identified as IHSS or home-care workers spoke in favor of immediate implementation. Bradley Wiedbauer, who said he has been an IHSS worker for 10 years, praised the 75% restoration but urged the city to restore the remaining 25% later, citing historical exclusion of domestic workers from some labor protections. Two other callers, Claudia Arevalo and Dalmy Campos, said home care workers ‘‘cannot wait’’ and asked the board not to delay the wage increase.
The committee adopted the amendment and then voted to move items 1 (interim budget & appropriation ordinance, as amended), 2 (interim annual salary ordinance), and 3 to the full Board with a positive recommendation. The amendment motion was seconded by President Norman Yee; roll-call votes recorded by the clerk show unanimous support among present members.
The clerk’s reading ties the Human Services increase ($2,001,503) to an offset in a curb-ramp capital line; the transcript contains inconsistent numeric references for that offset, so the committee record should be consulted for the final accounting before publication of the enacted ordinance. Chair Feuer said items approved by the committee are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors agenda on June 23 unless otherwise noted.
What happens next: the committee’s positive recommendation sends the interim budget items, as amended, to the full Board of Supervisors for consideration on the Board agenda. Public commenters asked the Board to implement the wage change without delay and to pursue the remaining increase in future negotiations or contracts.
