S.F. mayor says 1,000 city jobs to be cut

SAN FRANCISCO, May 16 (UPI) -- San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom says his city's increasing budget deficit means 1,000 city workers will have to be fired within months.

The mayor's office confirmed Friday the employee cuts will impact all city departments, but the section likely facing the heaviest losses will be the Department of Public Health, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Saturday.

As of last June, San Francisco employed nearly 29,000 people and 262 jobs have been cut in the last six months.

Newsom spokesman Nathan Ballard said the upcoming layoffs were in response to Service Employees International Union Local 1021 voting against a labor deal that would have saved the city $38 million and set the stage for other city unions to accept concessions.

The deal, which included a 3.75 percent pay increase for workers, was rejected by union members this week 56 percent to 44 percent.

"Because SEIU (1021) didn't ratify the deal, now we have to scramble to balance the budget, and unfortunately that means layoffs," Ballard said. "Everyone needs to do their fair share, and unfortunately the sensible tentative agreement we had entered into with SEIU fell apart."

San Francisco is facing a $438 million deficit that could balloon to $531 million if the state leans on local governments to cover its own shortfall. San Francisco has a $6.6 billion annual budget.