By Luke Thomas
Editor’s Note: This article has been modified since its initial publication due to a factual error. SEIU 1021 dual-endorsed Supervisor John Avalos and Senator Leland Yee for mayor. FCJ regrets the error.
August 15, 2011
In what may be considered a repudiation of interim Mayor Ed Lee and a significant boost to Supervisor John Avalos and Senator Leland Yee’s mayoral prospects, SEIU 1021, San Francisco’s largest public employees union, today dual-endorsed Avalos and Yee over Lee for mayor.
Former Supervisor Bevan Dufty received the union’s third-place endorsement for mayor in the ranked-choice race.
SEIU 1021 also announced its endorsements in the ranked-choice races for district attorney and sheriff.
In the race for district attorney, SEIU 1021 endorsed attorneys David Onek (first) and Bill Fazio (second), and Alameda County Prosecutor Sharmin Bock (third).
In the race for sheriff, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi garnered SEIU 1021’s sole endorsement.
In a surprising move, the 54,000 member SEIU 1021 union endorsed Mayor Lee’s “consensus/city family” pension and healthcare reform measure over Public Defender Jeff Adachi’s pension reform initiative. Under Lee’s plan, the majority of SEIU 1021 workers will see their pension contributions increase by at least 3 percent. Under Adachi’s plan, which takes a progressive approach to solving The City’s pension costs crisis, a majority of SEIU 1021 workers’ pension contributions will remain unchanged.
Luke Thomas
Luke Thomas is a former software developer and computer consultant who proudly hails from London, England. In 2001, Thomas took a yearlong sabbatical to travel and develop a photographic portfolio. Upon his return to the US, Thomas studied photojournalism to pursue a career in journalism. In 2004, Thomas worked for several neighborhood newspapers in San Francisco before accepting a partnership agreement with the SanFranciscoSentinel.com, a news website formerly covering local, state and national politics. In September 2006, Thomas launched FogCityJournal.com. The BBC, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, New York Times, Der Spiegel, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Magazine, 7x7, San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Bay Guardian and the San Francisco Weekly, among other publications and news outlets, have published his work. Thomas is a member of the Freelance Unit of the Pacific Media Workers Guild, TNG-CWA Local 39521 and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
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August 17, 2011 at 9:14 am
Hold the press. I’d like to see your calculations or any evidence that shows Adachi’s plan is better for the majority of SEIU 1021 members at the City? The Consensus plan has a cap on not increasing the contribution for city workers who earn less than $50K a year . . .
August 15, 2011 at 2:41 pm
…”Under Lee’s plan, the majority of SEIU 1021 workers will see their pension contributions increase by at least 3 percent. Under Adachi’s plan, which takes a progressive approach to solving The City’s pension costs crisis, a majority of SEIU 1021 workers’ pension contributions will remain unchanged.”
Shows you the union leadership priority is not the pocketbooks of their members.
I gather the lower paid rank and file paying attention will vote for Adachi or neither. Would be in their best interest to vote for Adachi to get the highest paid employees to make their own pensions solvent…