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A group of 2,500 Bay Area Kaiser Permanente health care workers voted this week voted to authorize a strike amid ongoing concerns about short staffing and unfair labor practices.

Driving the news: The workers, part of OPEIU Local 29, are prepared to strike if the coalition of unions they belong to can't reach a contract agreement by the end of this month.

The vote, which was announced Wednesday, comes amid a string of other votes by nearly 70,000 union members in Colorado, California, Oregon, Washington, Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.

Why it matters: Union leaders say this would be the largest strike of health care workers in U.S. history and would impact Kaiser medical facilities throughout the country.

What's happening: The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions has criticized the health care giant for chronic understaffing that's led to long waits for appointments and delays in patient care services.

Union leaders are fighting for higher annual pay raises, arguing their wages have not kept up with the rising cost of living and inflation.

Arlene Peasnall, a Kaiser Permanente executive, told Axios via email that the company is offering "across-the-board wage increases" and is continuing to offer "excellent health benefits"and retirement plans.

What they're saying: "Over the last few years, the staffing crisis has made it so that our patients can't get the adequate care that they need, or there's a delay in getting them treatment just because there's not enough staff to handle them," Christie Dubeck, a Bay Area-based pharmacy technician, told Axios.

Dubeck, who has worked at Kaiser for over three decades, said no one wants a strike to happen "but we need the organization to stand behind us and give us what we need to do the job appropriately."

State of play: Management proposed cumulative wage increases of between 10% and 14% over the multi-year contract, and a $21 minimum wage across Kaiser facilities.

The coalition's proposal includes cumulative annual pay raises of around 26% in the four-year contract and a $25 per hour minimum wage.

The unions see higher pay as part of the solution to the staffing crisis by helping with retention and hiring.

Context: The coalition says it represents more than 85,000 health care workers, roughly 40% of the overall Kaiser Permanente workforce.

Kaiser Permanente has a number of locations in the Bay Area, including hospitals in San Francisco, Oakland, Alameda, and San Mateo.

The other side: Kaiser leaders are "confident" they'll reach an agreement before the current contract expires, Peasnall said.

The strike authorizations were a "disappointing action considering their progress at the bargaining table," they said.

They urged employees not to strike, but said they have a plan to ensure patients' access to health care services if it happens this year.

What to watch: The contract expires Sept. 30 and the union must give Kaiser a 10-day notice to strike.

Kaiser Permanente strike looms in San Francisco Bay Area

A group of 2,500 Bay Area Kaiser Permanente health care workers this week voted to authorize a strike amid ongoing labor concerns.

Kaiser Permanente in Mission Bay in San Francisco. Photo: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

Kaiser Permanente

A group of 2,500 Bay Area Kaiser Permanente health care workers voted this week voted to authorize a strike amid ongoing concerns about short staffing and unfair labor practices.Driving the news: The workers, part of OPEIU Local 29, are prepared to strike if the coalition of unions they belong to can&#x27;t reach a contract agreement by the end of this month.

News

Health

We asked, and Axios San Francisco readers answered our call to determine the best pizza spots in the city.

What's happening: Reader favorites include spots like Flour and Water, Little Star Pizza, and Megan's personal favorite, Outta Sight Pizza.

We mapped the locations for you via Google Maps and have included the full list below.

What they're saying: Axios SF reader Arnold S. spoke very highly of Capo's, saying, "They do it all: cracker thin crust, Detroit, Chicago deep dish, cast iron deep dish."

Meanwhile, reader Anirudh J. went to bat for Outta Sight, Gioia, and Square Pie Guys.

Outta Sight has "unbelievable pizza," Gioia has "great topping combos" and Square Pie Guys also has "unbelievably creative pies," saysAnirudh. 

Best pizza spots in SF, ranked in alphabetical order.

Best pizza spots in San Francisco, according to our readers

Flour and Water's burrata pizza. Photo: Lea Suzuki/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

Food

We asked, and Axios San Francisco readers answered our call to determine the best pizza spots in the city.What&#x27;s happening: Reader favorites include spots like <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Flour and Water" data-vars-click-url="https://www.flourandwater.com/" data-vars-content-id="332dbee8-0ac7-4746-a726-cb1c2f30eb1f" data-vars-headline="Best pizza spots in San Francisco, according to our readers" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.flourandwater.com/" target="_blank">Flour and Water</a>, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Little Star Pizza" data-vars-click-url="https://www.littlestarpizza.com/" data-vars-content-id="332dbee8-0ac7-4746-a726-cb1c2f30eb1f" data-vars-headline="Best pizza spots in San Francisco, according to our readers" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.littlestarpizza.com/" target="_blank">Little Star Pizza</a>, and Megan&#x27;s personal favorite, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Outta Sight Pizza" data-vars-click-url="https://www.thatsouttasight.com/#/" data-vars-content-id="332dbee8-0ac7-4746-a726-cb1c2f30eb1f" data-vars-headline="Best pizza spots in San Francisco, according to our readers" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.thatsouttasight.com/#/" target="_blank">Outta Sight Pizza</a>.

Food and Drink

San Francisco public school teachers will soon decide whether to authorize a strike amid ongoing concerns around pay, class sizes, staffing and more.

Why it matters: Labor negotiations have hit a standstill, and teachers walking off the job could potentially shut down schools.

Driving the news: Last week, more than 200 representatives of the United Educators of San Francisco, which represents about 6,500 public school teachers in the city, unanimously voted to authorize a strike.

Yes, but: The issue will now be brought to all members for a strike authorization vote on Oct. 11, UESF announced in an email to members on Friday.

Catch up quick: Negotiations between the San Francisco Unified School District and the teachers' union have been going on for about 10 months.

Educators are seeking a two-year contract with increased pay, smaller class sizes, priority school assignments to enable educators' children to attend school where they work, and more.

What they're saying: "We understand the impact of a strike and are doing everything possible to prevent that," UESF president Cassondra Curiel said in a press release. "Strikes are a last resort and something we are vigorously trying to avoid."

Of note: Janitors, nurses and other school staff members represented by SEIU 1021 are also considering a strike.

They plan to vote on whether to authorize a strike on Sept. 30 and Oct. 3.

The other side: SFUSD is "working diligently and in good faith" to negotiate contracts with UESF and SEIU 1021, Laura Dudnick, a spokesperson for the school district, told Axios via email.

She added that negotiating collective bargaining agreements "of this size at a regular pacing" typically takes at least a year.

What to watch: Whether a majority of UESF members vote next month to authorize a strike.

If they do, another vote would need to happen before union leadership officially calls for a strike.

San Francisco public school teachers plan strike vote

Labor negotiations have hit a standstill, and teachers walking off the job could potentially shut down schools.

Illustration of a hand holding a protest sign in the shape of chalkboard with a graduation cap 

Schools

San Francisco public school teachers will soon decide whether to authorize a strike amid ongoing concerns around pay, class sizes, staffing and more.Why it matters: Labor negotiations have <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="hit a standstill" data-vars-click-url="https://uesf.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/9.18-Bargaining-Report.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0E8oWIRTrHx-j6AJCm5fGo1Iu5U_yT2VhxMFkK-__Nt9yH-PoPZQ-rgos" data-vars-content-id="3f0e0bfe-bf49-4958-97a2-958da0e62471" data-vars-headline="San Francisco public school teachers plan strike vote" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://uesf.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/9.18-Bargaining-Report.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0E8oWIRTrHx-j6AJCm5fGo1Iu5U_yT2VhxMFkK-__Nt9yH-PoPZQ-rgos" target="_blank">hit a standstill</a>, and teachers walking off the job could potentially shut down schools.

Education

Dreamforce gave San Francisco's tourism industry a much-needed boost this month.

Why it matters: The city's revenues have suffered amid the pandemic, and tourism is key to helping boost them.

But San Francisco has had the slowest downtown recovery of the 62 largest cities across the U.S. and Canada, according to an analysis from the School of Cities at the University of Toronto.

By the numbers: Hotels in the area around Moscone Center, where Dreamforce took place, had an average 93.6% hotel occupancy rate from Sept. 11 through Sept. 13, SFGATE reports, citing data from real estate analytics company CoStar Group.

The final day of Dreamforce, Sept. 14, saw a 74.7% hotel occupancy rate, higher than the city's average 66.1% occupancy rate in July.

In 2022, tourism was down about 16% from 2019, when a record 26.2 million people visited the city.

What to watch: In November, San Francisco will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. 

Political and business leaders — including President Joe Biden; senior officials from China, Japan and Mexico; and executives from General Motors and Pfizer — will be among the thousands in attendance, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed told the Chronicle she hopes all attendees "will look at San Francisco and say to themselves, 'Oh, my goodness, this is a beautiful city.'"

Dreamforce gave a boost to hotel occupancy

The city's revenues have suffered amid the pandemic, and tourism is key to helping boost them.

Dreamforce attendees. Photo: Marlena Sloss/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Tourism

Dreamforce gave San Francisco&#x27;s <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="tourism industry" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/san-francisco/2023/03/24/san-francisco-tourism-recovery" data-vars-content-id="6f09f2dc-db1f-4647-b152-f7f7a61e0853" data-vars-headline="Dreamforce gave a boost to hotel occupancy" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/san-francisco/2023/03/24/san-francisco-tourism-recovery" target="_self">tourism industry</a> a much-needed boost this month.Why it matters: The city&#x27;s revenues <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="have suffered" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/san-francisco/2023/01/23/san-francisco-pandemic-economic-recovery-workers" data-vars-content-id="6f09f2dc-db1f-4647-b152-f7f7a61e0853" data-vars-headline="Dreamforce gave a boost to hotel occupancy" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/san-francisco/2023/01/23/san-francisco-pandemic-economic-recovery-workers" target="_self">have suffered</a> amid the pandemic, and tourism is key to helping boost them.

San Francisco Supervisor Dean Preston wants the city to ban right turns on red, and on Tuesday introduced a resolution that would urge the city's transportation department to do so.

Why it matters: Turn-on-red crashes have proved dangerous, accounting for 20% of pedestrian- or bicycle-related injury crashes involving drivers turning at signal-based intersections, according to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.

What's happening: If the Board of Supervisors adopts the resolution, it would function as its official stance on the topic, but the decision ultimately rests with the SFMTA board of directors.

Context: An SFMTA analysis last year found the number of close calls between vehicles and pedestrians decreased following the 2021 implementation of no-turn-on-red at more than 50 intersections in the Tenderloin, which is part of Preston's district.

Plus, the number of vehicles blocking or encroaching into crosswalks on a red light decreased by more than 70% following that ban.

What they're saying: Given the success in the Tenderloin and the increase in traffic fatalities throughout the city, Preston said in a press release the city "should be expanding NTOR to every neighborhood," especially in areas that have high numbers of traffic-related injuries and fatalities.

"We have the tools, and we should be using these tools in a coordinated way, with urgency, to ensure we are doing everything possible to prevent serious traffic injuries and fatalities," he wrote.

Luke Bornheimer, a transportation safety advocate who has pushed for a no-turn-on red policy, previously told Axios banning turns on red would make it safer and easier for children, people with disabilities, seniors and others to cross the street.

SFMTA spokesperson Stephen Chun said the transportation agency is "deeply committed" to eliminating traffic-related fatalities in San Francisco, he told Axios via email.

The SFMTA is still reviewing the details of Preston's resolution, Chun said, adding the agency is working to prioritize areas where "the safety risks are the highest."

This month, Chun said via email the SFMTA was not "considering banning turns on red lights citywide."

The big picture: San Francisco had more traffic fatalities during the pandemic than the three years preceding it, according to the SFMTA.

San Francisco reported 96 fatal crashes in 2020–22, a 33% increase from 2017–19.

What to watch: Whether San Francisco will follow the lead of cities like New York, which has already banned right turns on red, and Seattle, which began phasing out right-on-red turns in May in an effort to reduce collisions involving cars and pedestrians.

San Francisco supervisor wants right turns on red banned

A new resolution would urge the city's transportation department to do so.

A no-turn-on-red sign in San Francisco. Photo: 

Traffic

San Francisco Supervisor Dean Preston wants the city to ban right <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="turns on red" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/san-francisco/2023/09/19/cars-turning-right-on-red-petition-dangerous-safety" data-vars-content-id="beba101e-9f75-4d64-bdc3-e992b49a0c00" data-vars-headline="San Francisco supervisor wants right turns on red banned" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/san-francisco/2023/09/19/cars-turning-right-on-red-petition-dangerous-safety" target="_self">turns on red</a>, and on Tuesday introduced a resolution that would urge the city&#x27;s transportation department to do so.Why it matters: Turn-on-red crashes have proved dangerous, accounting for 20% of pedestrian- or bicycle-related injury crashes involving drivers turning at signal-based intersections, according to the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency" data-vars-click-url="https://www.sfmta.com/sites/default/files/reports-and-documents/2022/04/tenderloinntor_factsheet_0.pdf" data-vars-content-id="beba101e-9f75-4d64-bdc3-e992b49a0c00" data-vars-headline="San Francisco supervisor wants right turns on red banned" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.sfmta.com/sites/default/files/reports-and-documents/2022/04/tenderloinntor_factsheet_0.pdf" target="_blank">San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency</a>.

Megan Rose Dickey

Featured stories

San Francisco public school teachers plan strike vote

San Francisco supervisor wants right turns on red banned

Dreamforce gave a boost to hotel occupancy

Kaiser Permanente strike looms in San Francisco Bay Area

Best pizza spots in San Francisco, according to our readers