Fifteen thousand San Francisco city workers began receiving lay off notices this weekend. Mayor Gavin Newsom said that many of those workers would be able to reapply for their jobs and get rehired, but at a 37.5 hour work week instead of 40 hours per week. That would amount to a 6.25 percent cut in pay for the employees that are rehired. The Mayor’s plan is projected to save the city $50 million as it faces a $522 million budget gap. In addition to the loss of pay the reduced hours will impact the amount of money going into worker pension funds.

Lede: San Francisco's Labor Council says it’s extremely disappointed in President Obama's Afghan war escalation when there are so many domestic needs that will be hurt by it. Doug Cunningham has more.

By Doug Cunningham

By Doug Cunningham

A strike has been authorized by San Francisco hotel workers. More than 9000 hotel workers are represented by UNITE-Here local 2. Ninety-two point three percent of those workers voted in favor of strike authorization at 31 upscale hotels. According to the union the hotels are seeking to increase workloads by cutting shifts and combining jobs. The hotels have also sought to shift more of the health care burden onto employees. Some of the hotel chains involved in the contract negotiations include Hyatt, Hilton, and Fairmont corporations.