San Francisco city unions blast Mayor Lurie’s proposed budget for prioritizing tax breaks for corporations like Airbnb over public jobs and services.
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| City unions in San Francisco slam Mayor Lurie's budget plan for layoffs and corporate favoritism, accusing Airbnb of dodging $415M in taxes. Image: IFPTE Local 21 |
San Francisco, USA — May 31, 2025:
Several powerful city unions in San Francisco have publicly condemned Mayor Lurie's proposed city budget, accusing it of prioritizing corporate tax breaks—particularly for tech giant Airbnb—over the jobs and services relied upon by city residents. In a rare joint statement issued Friday, unions including IFPTE Local 21, SEIU Local 1021, and the San Francisco Building Trades Council denounced the plan’s inclusion of large-scale public sector layoffs.
“Layoffs are totally unnecessary. We can find the funds to save jobs and uphold San Francisco values,” said Rudy Gonzalez, Secretary-Treasurer of the San Francisco Building & Construction Trades Council.
SEIU Local 1021 President Theresa Rutherford, a veteran of Laguna Honda Hospital, voiced deep disappointment. “Rather than collaborating with city workers on the path forward that we outlined months ago, the mayor is choosing to slash vital services that support residents and small businesses. Meanwhile, corporations that benefit from our infrastructure refuse to pay their fair share.”
Union leaders argue that the city’s financial struggles are being unfairly blamed on public spending, when in reality, corporations like Airbnb are actively suing San Francisco for $415 million in tax breaks—more than half of the city’s projected budget deficit.
"This is the budget that Airbnb wants," said Sarah Perez, Vice President of IFPTE Local 21 and a city employee. "None of these job cuts should be happening, but instead, the mayor is enabling tax evasion by tech companies while cutting the very services San Franciscans rely on."
The unions also warned that the proposed budget’s cuts would pave the way for the privatization of essential services. “Cutting public jobs often means handing work over to for-profit contractors,” said Perez, “raising costs and increasing the risk of corruption.”
The unions, which represent tens of thousands of city employees across departments, announced plans to mobilize with community partners to resist the layoffs and demand a fairer budget that preserves public jobs and holds corporations accountable.
As budget negotiations intensify, pressure is mounting on Mayor Lurie to reconsider what labor advocates are calling a dangerous and inequitable approach to fiscal management in a city already struggling with housing, healthcare, and service access challenges.