Labor Council Applauds City Leaders For Standing Up For San Diego's Neighborhoods

City Council Votes to Provide Voters a Choice in Protecting Public Safety and Services
By Fixing City's Structural Deficit

SAN DIEGO – (Friday, July 30, 2010) – Lorena Gonzalez, the Secretary-Treasurer of the San Diego Labor Council, made the following statement today:

"We applaud today's decision by San Diego city leaders to allow the public to vote on a comprehensive financial package that will restore and protect public safety and neighborhood services.

"After urging the City's leadership for months to allow residents to choose between better public services for our City and the status quo, the Labor Council is pleased to see the progress made today. While city workers will have to consider the numerous cuts to pay and benefits and the potential loss of city jobs through outsourcing, they know a solution must be found to the city's structural deficit in order to keep essential services available to residents.

"For voters, the choice is clear. Voters can choose to see more fire engines go idle, our beaches, streets and parks unsupervised and unkempt, fewer police officers on patrol, slower response times to 9-1-1 emergencies, and fewer library hours. Or they can choose to restore those vital services with the pennies in their pockets and to keep that new revenue in a lockbox out of the reach of Sacramento.

"We are grateful to Councilmembers Donna Frye and Todd Gloria for bringing people together to find common ground over the last week to make a solution work. We congratulate Council President Ben Hueso for not allowing this opportunity – this unique moment in our city's history – to languish so that the over San Diego's future could continue. Councilmembers Tony Young, Sherri Lightner and Marti Emerald also deserve credit for agreeing to be part of this much-needed solution.

"Today's milestone could not have been possible without the support of Mayor Jerry Sanders, who has worked for months to build the trust needed for there to be a true partnership with city employees. His efforts to craft a consensus have made San Diego a stronger city. We thank him for his diligence and his leadership.

"San Diego's workers look forward to providing input as the final ballot measure is crafted over the next several days and are optimistic that today's decision will lead to a better San Diego."

The San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFL-CIO, represents 129 local unions affiliates with 190,000 union members who are making the region a better place to work and live. For more information, visit www.unionyes.org.

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