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Budget committee continues ordinance to raise contractor minimum pay, sponsor seeks inclusion of nonprofit and airport workers
Summary
The Budget & Finance Committee continued an ordinance that would raise the minimum compensation for city contractor employees and would extend coverage to nonprofit workers and some airport employees. Sponsor Supervisor Jeff Sheehy asked to delay a vote until the Budget Legislative Analyst produces cost estimates.
The Budget & Finance Committee on May 2017 continued consideration of an ordinance amending the administrative code to raise the minimum hourly compensation rate paid by city contractors and to require that city-funded contractor work be paid the listed rate.
Sponsor Supervisor Jeff Sheehy told the committee he would ask to continue the file “to the call of the chair” until the Budget Legislative Analyst (BLA) completes a cost estimate for recent amendments. Sheehy said the amendments aim to fix a pay gap at San Francisco International Airport and to include nonprofit contract workers, who have largely been excluded from prior phases of the Minimum Compensation Ordinance (MCO). “The nonprofit workers in our city are vital to maintaining our social safety net,” Sheehy said.
During two hours of public comment, labor and nonprofit speakers urged approval. Tim Paulson, executive director of the San Francisco Labor Council, said his board unanimously supported the legislation and that similar Bay Area ordinances include nonprofits. Airport and airline food-service workers described long hours and wages that would fall behind San Francisco’s minimum wage without the change. Juliana Liu, an in-flight station attendant, and several union representatives said many airport workers earn the current QSP rate and would be left behind when the city minimum rises.
Nonprofit leaders urged caution. Terry Lerman of the San Francisco Human Services Network said nonprofit sustainability discussions with the mayor’s office have been underway and warned a mandatory MCO increase without accompanying funding could “undermine that cost of doing business conversation.” Several speakers asked the city to fund cost-of-doing-business adjustments so nonprofits can comply without losing programs.
Procedural outcome: Chair Malia Cohen accepted a motion to continue the ordinance to the call of the chair so the BLA can provide the requested fiscal analysis; the committee took that action without objection. No ordinance vote was taken at the committee meeting.
The committee’s continued review leaves open several next steps: the BLA cost report, follow-up hearings on nonprofit impacts and potential cost-of-doing-business adjustments, and a potential future vote to advance the ordinance to the full Board of Supervisors.
