Jobs

By John Avalos

Making an Economy of Opportunity by maximizing small business opportunities in city-funded development, strengthening workforce development programs, enhancing our green jobs programs, eliminating the payroll tax.

Throughout my career, I have fought to preserve employment and training opportunities for city residents, building career paths that can bring low-income San Francisco families into the middle class. In 2010, I led the way in passing San Francisco's landmark Local-Hiring ordinance, the strongest local hiring law in the country, and the product of hundreds of hours of collaborative meetings with community, labor, business, and governmental stakeholders. As the law is implemented over the next few years, city leaders need to turn to other opportunities to maximize economic prospects for San Francisco residents and communities.

As Mayor, I will:

Maximize employment and small business opportunities in publicly-subsidized development projects. Redevelopment projects and publicly supported initiatives, like the America's Cup, should come with legally-enforceable, state-of-the-art local hiring, job-training, and small business requirements, to ensure that these projects deliver on promises of economic opportunities for San Franciscans.

Strengthen the City's workforce development programs. Publicly-subsidized development projects should be required to make ongoing contributions to the City's workforce development systems. Through this funding stream, and by incorporating other funding sources and best practices, we can build on the City's exceptional workforce development programs, enabling them to serve more City residents and better prepare them for sustainable, middle-class careers.

Enhance the City's green jobs programs. The City is spending millions of dollars in federal funds on commercial and residential retrofits. We should place top priority on maximizing small business opportunities, job opportunities, and training dollars to prepare low-income workers for green-collar careers. Cities around the country are developing innovative approaches in this emerging field, building a sustainable economy for the 21st century. With focused leadership and prioritized funding, San Francisco can make its clean energy and green jobs programs a national model.

Eliminate the Payroll Tax. We should replace the Payroll Business Tax, which only discourages job growth and job creation, with a revenue-generating Gross Receipts Tax, to level the playing field in favor of small businesses. We should be supporting local artists, and investing in new jobs in the emerging made-in-SF manufacturing industries, including local power.