Chris Daly shows 'em how to vote...

​Critics and supporters alike of Chris Daly can smile and state the former supe now works for Big Labor -- officially.

An article in the Guardian feted Daly's recent appointment as the SEIU Local 1021 interim political director as a modern-day return from Elba. Not surprisingly Daly's new gig was portrayed in that story as a transcendent moment that will usher in a return of all that's right and good.

The former supervisor is unarguably a man with a great deal of talent, panache, and drive. But, as with all things Daly, this move carries potential benefits -- and detriments.

First the benefits.

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"What are you doing, Dave? You can't buy booze from me!"

​Come Jan. 1, California will manage to solve a problem no one has yet proven to exist -- the rampant scourge of underage boozers purchasing alcohol via the supermarket self-checkout lanes. Won't someone think of the children? Oh wait -- they did.

Assemblywoman Fiona Ma's AB 183 will prevent the sale of alcohol via self-checkout machines -- and, presumably, vexed young would-be drinkers will turn to macrame.

Keeping booze out of the hands of young people is ostensibly a good thing -- though it warrants mentioning that the fetishization and mass-marketing of alcohol in our society promotes unhealthy drinking habits for young people that last well into adulthood. But even the studies Ma's own press releases use to explain the necessity of this bill indicate it's tackling a largely anecdotal problem -- and doing so in a manner that won't prevent kids from getting booze (or even booze through self-checkout lines).

If the bill were also intended, however, to cement the jobs of human employees and harpoon the business model of a non-union grocery giant reliant on self-checkout -- well, it's given Big Labor something to toast this New Year's.

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Web Urbanist

Hello, hello, hello? Is there anybody in there?

​You can argue if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but it's most certainly a thing: You just don't find many native San Franciscans in this here city.

As a result, San Francisco tends to empty out during Thanksgiving, as residents head "home." (It thins out during Burning Man as well, but it's just not the same thing).

So, this week -- assuming you stick around -- not only will you be rubbing shoulders with fewer San Franciscans, you'll be less likely to walk into a city worker as well. Many have the week off, and most have a mandatory furlough day on Wednesday.
 
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Fred Noland

​After the deaths of a pair of San Francisco firefighters, SF Weekly pored through labor statistics to learn just how often tragedies of this sort occur. The answer: a lot less often than you'd think. It turns out janitors, automotive store clerks, and cabbies die on the job at a far higher clip than firefighters. And fishermen out-die everyone; a cabbie selling timing belts and mopping up on a fishing vessel is asking for it.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, which provided the mordant data we reported on, this week came out with its most current analysis of workplace death. Here's what we can learn from the 4,547 instances of reported deaths on the job in 2010, a statistical dead heat -- no pun intended -- from the 4,551 workplace deaths in 2009:

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Tom Ammiano: Not an abuser of nannies.

​This has been the Year of the Nanny in California politics. There was Meg Whitman's undocumented nanny who accused her of not paying her enough, which was perhaps the death knell to Whitman's gubernatorial campaign (okay, technically, that was last year). Then there was Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's secret lover, who was also his housekeeper and the mother of their love child.

While these gossipy news bits have provided us reporters with endless material for bad composite art, the nanny issue that will actually have the most lasting consequences is the Domestic Worker's Bill of Rights, AB 889.
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Tony Hall

​Unions representing San Francisco's police officers and firefighters have barred former city Supervisor Tony Hall from participating in a debate among mayoral candidates slated for tomorrow, citing in part Hall's aggressive stance on reforming municipal workers' pension and healthcare packages.

In a statement released today, Hall said he had been informed by leaders of the San Francisco Police Officers Association that he was not invited to the union-sponsored debate because of his advocacy of "stronger pension reform" than that proposed by labor unions and Mayor Ed Lee.

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Aug. 2 is tentatively walk to work day

​Though their City Hall protest last week successfully rustled some feathers (even Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi was riled up), cab drivers are already talking about staging an even bigger strike next month.

This time, they want to join forces with Muni drivers to send a stronger message to their shared boss -- the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. "Both of these groups are being attacked by the SFMTA," said Steve Zeltzer, who encouraged the taxi and Muni drivers to informally meet up in June. More >>

Look for the union label

​San Francisco is known as a union town and a city rich with medical cannabis dispensaries. It was only a matter of time before the two intersected.

A year after United Food and Commercial Workers began organizing medical cannabis operations in Oakland and Marin County, Grass Roots collective has become the first of San Francisco's 26 dispensaries to have its workers turn in cards and join the union, according to organizer Dan Rush, UFCW Local 5's medical cannabis director.

And what timing: Grass Roots' union membership was official at around the same time the collective sought to open up a second location on the 900 block of Mission Street, within parking distance of the Metreon. This effort was mysteriously stalled by a phantom hotel project with no financing after the hoteliers' concerns gave the Planning Commission reason to pause. But then the dispensary's second location was finally approved last month.

That timing was a mere coincidence, SF Weekly was told. Although it's worth noting that union membership gives MCDs some legitimacy they might otherwise lack. More >>

Ulp!

​This week my column describes how San Francisco employers are looking to hire thousands of workers under the H1B visa program. It's reserved for companies needing to hire technical specialists that can't be found stateside.

But critics say the program is abused by employers who'd like to dismiss highly paid or older U.S. workers. Compliant, low-paid immigrants are better for profits.

Employers, meanwhile, say they can't fill certain jobs locally. Simply keeping the positions open would result in lost business, lost opportunities, and lost jobs for San Franciscans.
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The new face of pension reform?

​Mayor Ed Lee announced his long-awaited pension reform proposal today, partnering with Supervisor Sean Elsbernd to introduce an amendment to the city charter that aims to defray San Francisco's mounting liabilities for employees' retirement benefits. Lee's goal all along has been to get as many interest groups and fellow elected officials on board with his plans as possible, and it seems he has done well in this regard.

In addition to Elsbernd, the amendment is sponsored by Board of Supervisors President David Chiu, as well as Supervisors Mark Farrell, Carmen Chu, Scott Wiener, and Malia Cohen, guaranteeing Lee the votes he needs to get the measure on the ballot this year. Just as significantly, he has substantial backing from labor, including the police and firefighters' unions.

There's just one question that remains unanswered, and it's a big one: How much will the proposal actually save?

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