Not an Extra Penny

For 38 days San Franciscans endured burst water mains, broken-down boilers, overflowing fountains, weed-choked lawns, garbage-strewn streets and a transit stoppage that halted their cable cars and buses. But last week some 3,900 city workers were finally back at work -- and, though they had gone on strike for an extra $5.5 million, they had not won a penny. It was the most dramatic setback to date for the nation's powerful municipal unions, which have been demanding ever fatter wage boosts and thus helping to drive U.S. cities to the edge of bankruptcy. It was the citizenry that finally rebelled against the well-paid rank and file (street sweepers are currently making as much as $17,000).

In a referendum last year, San Franciscans voted 2 to 1 to eliminate a pay formula linking city workers' salary increases to those in private industry. With such a mandate, the board of supervisors froze the workers' pay and reduced their benefits. That decision was unchanged by the strike. Said Board President Quentin Kopp: "The lesson to be learned from this strike is that political power in the city has moved away from the special-interest groups such as organized labor and Big Business, into the neighborhoods."

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