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Rules Committee advances ordinance removing dissolved workforce committees, members urge reauthorization
Summary
The Rules Committee recommended that the Board of Supervisors advance an ordinance removing two already-sunset workforce advisory bodies from the administrative code; OEWD and community speakers said the committees produced useful cross-agency work and urged prompt reauthorization with clearer labor participation and accountability measures.
The Rules Committee on Oct. 28 recommended that the Board of Supervisors advance an ordinance to remove two already-sunset workforce advisory bodies from the administrative code, while staff and community members urged reauthorizing the groups with stronger transparency and labor participation.
Angela Calvio, Clerk of the Board, told the committee the ordinance is largely housekeeping: “the language has already terminated these bodies and this is just a housekeeping step to remove them from the administrative code,” and that any reauthorization could be accomplished by subsequent legislation.
Joshua Arce, Director of Workforce Development at the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, described the committees’ history and work, saying the bodies were created by ordinance in 2014 and extended in 2019 and that the committees’ purpose (under Chapter 30 of the Administrative Code) is to coordinate city workforce services, increase access for job seekers and track outcomes across departments. Arce cited a series of initiatives as products of interagency coordination, including a Working Scholars pilot to help employees complete college coursework while working, and City Drive, a program that helped displaced private drivers transition to Muni employment through partnership with MTA and the Teamsters.
Vince Courtney, representing the Northern California District Council of Laborers and the San Francisco Labor Council executive committee, supported continuing the work but warned that “labor is not a part of this committee and has not been,” urging enforcement mechanisms, greater transparency and explicit labor participation in apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship pathways.
Co-chair Cheryl Davis said the committees helped departments ‘‘get to a place to be honest and real and to start actually measuring impact,’’ and staff said nothing in the ordinance precludes labor participation in future structures.
Chair Supervisor Hillary Ronan called for a motion to move the item forward; the committee advanced the ordinance to the full Board with a positive recommendation "without objection."
Next steps: The ordinance will appear on the Board of Supervisors agenda for full consideration; staff said they stand ready to work with the City Attorney and supervisors on any reauthorizing legislation and to incorporate suggestions about committee composition and accountability.
