Over 500 San Francisco city workers rally 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.”
Last Friday, February 16, over 500 San Francisco city workers represented by SEIU 1021, IFPTE Local 21, and other unions rallied outside of San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center to shed light on the dangerous impacts of understaffing. In bargaining with unions, the City administration has recently rejected demands to prevent wasteful spending on contracting out.
View photos and videos on Facebook here.
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, registered nurse at SFGH and SEIU 1021 RN chapter president, at Friday’s rally.
“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, 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.”
Check out some of the media coverage of the rally and issues here:
- SF Standard: I’m a nurse in San Francisco. Don’t blame me for the city’s budget deficit (opinion piece by Dr. Norlissa Cooper, PhD, MSN, BSN, RN and SEIU 1021 member)
- Mission Local: SF city workers rally to demand more staffing, less outsourcing
- 48 Hills: Health workers demand an end to dangerous staff shortages at SF General
- ABC 7 News at 4pm
- KTVU 2 News at 12pm
- KPFA News at 6pm
- KQED: Newshour at 4pm
City workers are gearing up for another rally at 49 S. Van Ness Ave. next Tuesday, February 27, at noon. RSVP here!