The largest unions representing San Francisco city workers have reached a deal with Mayor Daniel Lurie to grant their members 12% raises over four years and prevent layoffs until at least 2029.
Lurie’s administration and labor leaders on Tuesday agreed to extend contracts for about 25,000 city workers, setting up a surprisingly early resolution to what could have become a major political conflict in the months ahead. The unions’ current contracts don’t expire until June 30.
Rank-and-file union members must still ratify the deal in the weeks ahead. But if they do, it would eliminate the possibility of a widespread strike among City Hall’s workforce of more than 30,000 employees next year. That prospect became possible after a state employment board struck down a local ban on strikes by City Hall staffers. The odds of a strike appeared to increase as the mayor and union leaders clashed this year over how the city should rein in its massive recurring deficits…