San Francisco city workers vote to ratify contract and avoid strike
![San Francisco city workers vote to ratify contract and avoid strike San Francisco city workers vote to ratify contract and avoid strike](https://assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2021/10/13/01f01ae5-8fb9-4322-9489-5aa63c2a681b/thumbnail/1200x630/70e3691eff38701f67e9940fb34aafc3/GettyImages-469040807.jpg?v=5842509bb796a146f9b20d3e8b03dac6)
San Francisco workers represented by Service Employees International Union Local 1021 have voted to ratify three labor contracts with the city, averting a possible strike by thousands of city workers.
The SEIU Local 1021 union represents about 16,000 San Francisco city employees who work in a variety of roles, from nurses and parking attendants to station workers and librarians at Muni stations, according to a press release.
One of the contracts, which sets working conditions and wage standards for about 13,000 city employees under the SEIU Local 1021 union, calls for a $25 hourly minimum wage for all city employees, a 13 percent cost-of-living adjustment over three years and measures designed to prevent city services from being outsourced, the press release said.
When the treaty came to a vote in May, it received the support of 91% of voting members.
The other two contracts cover about 2,200 health department nurses and 700 SFMTA employees, SEIU spokeswoman Jennie Smith-Camejo said. The nurses and SFMTA employees in the union ratified their contracts last Wednesday and Friday with 86% and 95% of the vote, respectively.
Shortly before the agreement, 99.5 percent of nursing staff voted in favor of a strike. The new collective agreement will now avert this, the press release states.
Overall, more than 90% of SEIU Local 1021 workers in San Francisco voted to ratify their contracts with the city, Smith-Camejo said. She added that the new contracts will boost San Francisco city employee recruitment and retention.