4/6 SF Muni Hearings-Stop the Cutbacks!

April 6, 2004, 4 p.m., Room 400, City Hall, San Francisco, is where you should be if you care about public transportation and labor in San Francisco. Bus lines that are threatened with cuts in service, with a corresponding loss in jobs for those who provide this service, are the 4, 5, 7, 15, 9 and 14 lines, all needed by the workingclass.

These cuts in service come just 6 months after we experienced a fare increase from $1 to $1.25 per ride and $35 to $45 for the regular monthly fast pass. I know your wages did not go up with the same percentage increase.

Ellen Murray, a Muni operator, has an excellent article on this subject in SF Bayview entitled "Muni Opens a New Front In the War Against Bayview and Hunters Point" at
http://www.sfbayview.com/033104/newfront033104.shtml

Quotable quotes:
"f the proposals are approved, a total of 45.6 bus runs will be eliminated to save $7 million. The 4 Sutter, the 5 Owl and the 7 Haight lines will be discontinued. "

"Cuts proposed on the 15 Third, 9 San Bruno and 14 Mission continue the institutional racism of corporate San Francisco and their politicians: destroy the infrastructure of Bay View Hunters Point to drive out the stable working class and then redevelop with the Third Street rail for high priced gentrification. Muni is part and parcel of this plan. "

"These three lines are already underserved. Congestion on these lines does not allow the operators to keep up with the inadequate schedule. The proposals to increase the time between buses will create chaos on the lines and make buses more like sardine cans. For example, the proposed changes amount to the removal of 1.6 bus runs from the 15, five bus runs from the 14, and two bus runs from the 9 every single day."

"The only lines that are presently a priority for Muni are those that carry the workforce to and from the downtown corridor during rush hours. Thus the 4 Sutter, although it services a more affluent area, is on the chopping block. The 5 Owl is a lifeline for some night shift workers and has no alternative service. "

CHANTS TO USE:
They say cutback; we say fight back!

Who's got the power? We got the power.
What kind of power? Labor power.

When labor withdraws its hand, nothing moves.

We're going to beat back the bosses' attack.
We're going to beat, beat back the bosses' attack.

Lower the fares, tax the profits
Set up a Financial District transit district to tax corporate profits now!

Transfer the police budget to the public transportation budget. We do not need 2300 police at $80,000 per year salary and up plus benefits; we need more buses and trains at affordable fares now!

Return to the second meeting in greater numbers on April 20, 2004.