City Workers Angered Over Newsom's Job Proposal

Making up almost half of the city's work force, SEIU Local 1021 members are fuming after Gavin Newsom's proposed a plan "to layoff and then re-hire thousands of municipal employees as a way to save the cash-strapped city millions." The mayor, according to KTVU, wants to nix some 10,000 workers.

The plan goes like this: layoff the city workers, then hire most of them back to work fewer hours, and then, voila, put a tiny dent in the city's 500-million dollar budget gap. So, KTVU goes on to point out, those who reapply for their jobs would work "37.5 hours a week instead of a full 40," cutting their pay by 6.25 percent and roughly saving the city $50 million.

SEIU Local 1021 President Damita Davis-Howard called the plan a "sucker punch," going on to say, "It's anger which I imagine was most of the reaction of our workers."