SF Pension Reform by Any Other Name...
A fierce fight over what to call San Francisco's controversial pension reform proposition has ended with the words "pension reform" erased from the ballot description.
The Ballot Simplification Committee at the San Francisco Department of Elections has decided that Public Defender Jeff Adachi's pension reform measure will be called "Proposition B: City Retirement and Health Plans."
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After hearing hours of argument, the committee wrote a summary about how Adachi's measure would require city workers to contribute more to their pensions and health care.
"The union leaders didn't want the word pension anywhere in the measure, and they submitted an objection to the use of that word," said Adachi.
Adachi tells KCBS he found out, too late, that the workers' unions came back and pressured the committee, successfully, to take out the words "pension reform."
"They're playing games by changing the language of the measure to exclude "pension reform," from a pension reform measure," said Adachi.
Adachi could file a lawsuit, but says instead he'll focus on educating voters about what Prop. B will do.
"Everybody's got to understand that this is about pension reform," said Adachi.
Union leaders have not responded to our phone calls and emails.
Push to Strike B from the Ballot
Meanwhile, the largest city labor unions in San Francisco are suing to strip the measure from the November ballot altogether. A lawsuit, brought by five workers and labor unions for police officers, firefighters and others contends that Prop B is unconstitutional.
They say the petitions that more than 49,000 San Franciscans signed to get the measure on the ballot misled voters and violated state election law.
City workers say the measure could endanger $23 million in federal funding next year. They say it would increase their health care costs, leaving their children spouses, and partners without coverage.
The unions add that Prop. B violates the contractual rights of employee retirement benefits.
