feeding people. the food recovery network national slogan is finding ways to feed people. it's property to bring the scientific and human element into the situation. >> i want to welcome everyone to this very special event. celebrating san francisco's graduation to a 15-dollar an hour at minimum wage. good stuff. [applause] i'm pat mulligan. the director of the office of standards and enforcement. i want to thank everyone for attending this event. i know it is kind of a friday before a long weekend, and some people think it should be a whole week. i appreciate your dedication and

being here today. i was reminded recently leading up to this event that it has often been said in labour circle for years, as long as i can remember a, for more than 30 years, that every generation must reearn the right for labour justice at work. we need to reassert ourselves and redefine what is acceptable or tolerable within society. with the passage of the $15 an hour minimum wage, and with the earned implementation, this generation of san franciscans has asserted itself. we have taken the first steps towards defining what the minimum standards are for workers throughout san francisco and taking a step towards moving the agenda for social justice for all workers throughout the country. thathat is what we are here tody to celebrate. just meet -- just be mindful of

that. we have a brief program with some distinguished speakers in front and we will have a reception afterward. please stick around until the end. our first speaker, i should say i am truly impressed that he made the journey back to san francisco, after a gruelling week in san francisco as the budget chair. thathat is the california state assembly member phil tennant. [applause] >> think you. it is always so great to be home, especially, the temperature is about 90-100° in san francisco this weekend. we are always used to leading the way. i remember back in 2,003 when we had our first living wage battle in the first living wage proposition, and said we can't raise wages that high. will never be able to sustain it. we will have unemployment and people will be put out of work. while we have a very simple

philosophy here in san francisco. no one who works full time, doing a job, should ever have to live in poverty. we have not, even with our living wage, haven't been able to achieve that yet. this fight for 15, the amazing victory, starting july 1st. it is amazing. we are far ahead. california is still lacking behind. we will get to 15 in 2023, hopefully. assuming the economy continues to stay. that is years and years and years after san francisco already has hit that number for the fight -- has already achieved the fight for 15. but we know we can't stop. because until we can pay people a rage where they can rent a home, they can buy a home, they can provide for their families and put food on the table, and have a decent life in the richest city in the richest state in our country, we know that we still have a lot of work

to do. we have the wealthiest state. we are the fifth largest economy in the world to pick larger than great britain. but we also have one in five people living in poverty in california. this year, we were so proud to expand our earned income tax credit increase and put more money into medi-cal and work to get our healthcare access up. we know we are not done in san francisco. we are not done in california. have a long way to go and we need to keep fighting here in san francisco. those fights, it starts here. those fights that start -- sound crazy when we first put them out there, eventually, we know everyone will follow. thank you so much for coming and thank you so much for fighting. we will celebrate today and celebrate july 1st. but we know that on july 2nd we will get back to work, and we will keep fighting. thank we will keep fighting. thank you so much. [cheers and applause] >> thank you.

yes. first, i would like to acknowledge the president of the board of supervisors, thank you for your attendance today. i look forward to your continued support from your office. thank you very much. it is my honor to introduce our next speaker. my partner in this work, as well as many of the other functions of the city. also, the host of today's event, naomi kelly. [applause] >> good afternoon everyone. thank you for being here today. so we are here for this historic moment. whether you work in an office building in downtown san francisco, or at a nature -- neighborhood restaurant, or building homes back or cleaning them, as of july first, hour minimum wage will be $50 an ho hour. [cheers and applause] -- 15 dollars an hour.

i am proud to be with you here today to celebrate this milestone. san francisco is the first major american city to reach 15 dollars an hour for all it's workers. i can't fully appreciate this accomplishment without acknowledging our former late mayor, ed lee. it was in 2014 that ed lee worked to bring the stakeholders together and had a consensus driven approach with both labor unions, business leaders, community advocates to develop crop jay which was passed by the voters in 2014 with a 77% approval rating to increase the minimum wage which was then at $10.74 an hour, to today which would be $15 an hour. he often reminded us that the great city that this city of san francisco -- a great city, must treat workers fairly and shared prosperity is an integral part

to our strong economy. [applause] we have a booming local economy and a 50-dollar minimum wage. those who say we have to choose between -- 15 dollars minimum wage. those who say we have to choose between a fair pay and equity are wrong. they complement each other. thank you all for being here today. thank you to our labor community partners, our city staff, and all who have worked to ensure the rights of hard-working san franciscans can be protected. enjoy the rest of today. [applause] >> ok. next up, hang on, we will get through this expeditiously. the executive director of the san francisco labor council and lifetime resident of the city and county of san francisco, rudy gonzalez. [cheers and applause]

>> you have heard from other speakers that san francisco was the first. that mean something. a mean something when labor unions like community, and when i say that, i mean community partners like the chinese progressive association and through their partnership with groups like jobs with justice, where they come together with leaders in san francisco, and set a tone for the rest of the country. we saw just yesterday massachusetts joins the likes of new york and others who have followed suit to raise their minimum wage. as an important statement in what are otherwise dark times in our country. labor will stand with community. we will continue to fight for the working poor and we will continue to fight for immigrants in our communities. we will continue to stand up and provide a voice for working people. not only in san francisco, but in this nation and in this world. it is important that amidst this despair this world. it is important that amidst this

despair, we can come together and break bread and celebrate some of these victories. under the leadership of tim paulson at the time in our labor council, these things were possible. the minimum wage will rise, again. the living wage needs to rise out. [applause] whether it is over a copy, or you are reading mit statistics, you know it costs a lot more than $15 an hour to survive. even with just one person in this city, at the lodge of communities in the bay area. get us on as. 's on labor and community and on our elected's to take bold steps and move this even more forward and make progress and make a living wage a reality for san francisco and then we will see, under the leadership, it will happen across the country and elsewhere.

thank you. with that, i will turn it over to pat mulligan. thanks, brother. [applause] >> thank you rudy. next we will hear from a san francisco worker and a victim of minimum wage violations. she suffered under -- under minimum wage violations in a case i was investigated by the office of labor standards enforcement. we negotiated a settlement in the neighborhood of $400,000. in the back wages and penalties. just to appreciate it to, this was for seven workers. you can get the extent of the violation on an ongoing basis. whether that, i would introduce this woman and her interpreter for today with the office of labor standards enforcement.

>> voice of translator: good afternoon everyone. i will be the interpreter for this group of people. i also work for the office labor standard enforcement for -- as a compliance officer. i would like to thank you so much for this -- of these workers. all of them, they will have two more coming and they will probably be late. they took time off from work. they are taking the day off and some of them without pay. they want to come here to support us and support this event and to support the city and you support raising the minimum wage for the low wage workers. thank you. thank you so much. [applause] now she would like to say a few words on behalf of these good people who received a total of $480,000 as a back wages from one of the cases. i will be the interpreter for her. [speaking foreign language]

>> voice of translator: we are here today to support raising the minimum wage for low-wage workers. we work for a chinese restaurant on 18th street and the chinatown location, for many years.

we work six days a week from 10-12 hours a day but we only receive wages from 1,000-1,800 per month. which equal to $4.4 to $7.29 per hour. it is far below the required city minimum wage. [speaking foreign language] >> voice of translator: in november 2014, with the help of a former worker from these cases, we looked for and talk to miss hall who helped us with not receiving city minimum wage and

overtime pay. [speaking foreign language] >> voice of translator: in the investigation, employers hired two attorneys to fight and try to settle with us for less than what they audit for the findin findings. [speaking foreign language] >> voice of translator: one of the employers called us and said, hey, you guys just won money. i gave you money. just drop the claim. [speaking foreign language]

>> voice of translator: we are so upset that the employer called and told us we just one money. we learned that it is our right to receive minimum wage, and when we work more than eight hours a day or more than 40 hours a week, we are entitled to receive overtime pay. so we stick together and stood up for our rights. [speaking foreign language] >> voice of translator: we are so fortunate that with their help, our employer finally settled the case on the day of the hearing for a total of $480,000 as a back wages. [applause] [cheering]

we received varying amounts from 50,000-$100,000 as a back wage and interest. [speaking foreign language] >> voice of translator: when the ponce -- the director of osc is here and the city attorney handed the first, to us and we are so happy and so grateful and couldn't think them enough for their help. [speaking foreign language]

>> voice of translator: the minimum wage is so important to the low wage workers. by raising the minimum wage, it helps the workers to support their family and puts more money in worker process pockets that will lead to more spending in a local business and help our economic growth. thank you so much for fighting for our rights and helping us to recover our rightful earned wages. thank you. [speaking foreign language] [applause] >> thank you, everybody. before our next speaker, i would like to acknowledge the san francisco school board. matt amy, i think i saw him in the back. also upfront, the fire chief

joanne hayes white. thank you everyone. next up to speak, an individual who will always give it to you straight. the president of sci you local 87, representing custodial workers throughout san francisco and the secretary-treasurer of the san francisco labor council, olga miranda. >> i would be doing a disservice to my community if i did not start in spanish first. before the monolingual challenge, i would do it in english immediately afterwards. [speaking spanish] span-mac

span-ma [applause] when this campaign started in 2013, it was one of the campaigns that kicked off after the 99%. before i go on, i want to be able to say that -- thank you to naomi kelly and pat milliken.

-- mulligan. thank you for having the up year. i want to be able to say that these fights are done with coalitions and the hard work and to the contributions that everybody puts an. is not just the accolades of those directors, of the elected officers. it doesn't happen because it dawned on one of them. let's do the right thing. what i said in spanish, is that these alliances, for example, for the brothers and sisters from [speaking spanish] our brothers and sisters from the trident just chinese progressive association. i would like to elect -- recognize a newly elected president. president -- of the cultural officer. these are the partnerships, with all the organized labor, my brothers and sisters from the firefighters and brothers and

sisters from sei you. local 87. we had the courage to be able to fight for that. and my former boss and mentor who was a director at the time when all of this was happening. thank you. [applause] this week and the celebration today is one for all of these allies and partners such as jobs with justice. in the wake of the janice decision, the achievement of 15 dollars as a minimum wage in san francisco is far more significant. we will resonate -- this will resonate throughout the country. our work is still not done. it was born from the 99% campaign and workers at burger king, mcdonald's, wendy's, theyy all decided i want $15 and a union. it was born from single mothers and minimum wage workers who

said i deserve more and my children deserve more. a lot of these employers called immigration on workers. san francisco has a luxury to have this in our city. we also have labor unions. that is one thing that san francisco can say we are proud to have. this is a uniontown. uniontown plus block -- [applause] in the coming weeks, we are still under attack. our responsibility is to continue that momentum. at workers from the airport and erase those workers that have been left behind. that this city makes a commitment through the small business owners, through labor unions, there all the offices here in city government. make the mco and the p.l.a. happen so no one is left behind. thank you. [applause]

>> thank you. that was great. next up got my former work partner for four years, and never at a loss for words, vice president of service employees international union local ten-1, joseph brian. [applause] >> all right. good afternoon everyone. how is everybody doing today? good, good. today is a day to celebrate. at least in the moment. we all know that we are facing a tax on many levels. we are seeing a tax on families at the borders. we are seeing attacks on civil rights like what took place in colorado. we are seeing attacks on human rights. with the muslim band and we are seeing attacks on workers rights with what we are experiencing with a new decision that just came out. but we have to remind ourselves, we will not get it all back in

one swipe. there is not a magic bullet that will fix everything. i tell my son's basketball team when we get down, you know, we will not get it all back in one shot. we have to stay resilience. we have to continue to grind. we have to continue to fight. today is a moment of the success of all the people in this room. the success of labor and coordination with working with community, in working with city leaders like pat and naomi. when we come together, we can make substantial change for the working people. sciu international has played a leading role in the fight for 15 and a union since 2012. [applause] it has not been an easy fight. there's been a lot of pushback. there's been a lot of critics. there's been a lot of opponents. we know what's right.

even 15 in san francisco, as great as it is, it is still difficult to live here on $15 an hour. so we must continue to push. we must continue to process to ensure that there is a living wage for all people who live in the city and county of san francisco. [applause] at the end of it, yo, you know,? why fight so hard for this? the fight for 15 is a fight for dignity. it is a fight for respect. it is a fight for justice. so we must continue to press in all places that do not have 15, and then continue to press beyond. we must continue to fight for one another and we have so many folks in the house from labor today back again, sciu and the local 87, brother ramon

hernandez from local 261. we have both of the executive director's, rudy gonzalez and tim paulson from the labor council and my sister alyssa from 2121. we have the operator's army in the house. we have mr james bryant who played an interesting -- a great role in labor over many years. we must continue to work together and continued to fight together. we are with you guys in terms of making sure that we continue to fight for worker's rights. thank you. [applause] >> i was going to try and recognize some of the labor folks here but i think joseph just covered everybody. tim, connie, ramon, also everybody else. thank you for participating and attending. the next speaker's rep estate --

reputation precedes her. she has been the organizing director with a chinese progressive association. [cheers and applause] >> i was nervous, but now i have something to distract you all. just watch him if i get off track here. good afternoon. many thanks to pat and -- let's give it one more round of applause to the hard-working staff of the office of labor standards enforcement you every day help workers to make sure every day law is a reality and not just a good theory. i want to start by saying it has been a devastating week for all those of us who believe in democratic rights, in human rights, in immigrant rights, in the rights of families to be together and to be free. and the rights of workers to stand together as one. and to the rights of people to not be discriminated for further

religion or country of origin. i know that, for all of us, it is mixed feelings that we come together today for a celebration. at the same time, it is so important that we come together to celebrate. it is important we come together to celebrate because we want to remember, in dark times, in difficult times, what is the way forward? how do we win? how do we fight against racism and poverty and inequality? how do we make progress for working people and people of colour in this country? let's take a lesson from the $15 minimum wage victory. this victory was bought as many had mentioned already, because labor unions and community groups and workers, elected officials and many more came together to fight together for something better. but i want to get to the very core of why we have a $15 minimum wage. we have a $15 minimum wage in san francisco starting sunday. because workers took risks to

stand up. because workers put things on -- their lives on the line and their livelihoods on the line. [applause] fifteen years ago, it was workers here in san francisco that first made minimum wage a thing again. and now, all over the country,, cities and states have followed to follow and raise the minimum wage. it was workers in new york city who went on strike to demand $15 an hour and a union. minimum wage was won by people in this room. let see a show of hands. a show of hands who worked on the minimum wage proposition back in 2014? am i getting it right? raise your hand if you worked on this legislation. let's give a round of applause for everyone who has their hands in the air. [applause] i want to see another show of hands.

who here is a worker who earns a minimum wage or around the minimum wage, who is affected by this increase, and is part of a movement to improve the lives of workers in this city? raise your hands. [speaking spanish] [speaking foreign language] [applause] ok. i want to remind everyone that it was never about $15 and a union being some magic solution. i mean, this call started, like, six years ago. it meant something different than it means today. what this movement was about was not about some number that solved poverty or any quality. it was about dreaming big and aiming high and saying, we don't believe that we will be constrained by the limits of

imagination of those who are in power. by those who wish to get more profit from our labor. [laughter] we are not going to stand and be restrained by what people think it is possible. we are going to make the impossible possible. am i right? at this moment, we know our work is far from done, as many have mentioned. we know our work is far from done. we know the cost of living is outrageous and that $15 an hour does not get a family of four even close to what they need to survive. we know that our communities are facing blatant attacks on immigrants, on people of color, and it's bad. it's really, really bad. we know that the right wing and

people income -- in power, at various levels of government, especially the federal government, want to normalize the stripping away of worker's rights, immigrant rights, human rights and democratic rights. we cannot allow them to let that happen. this is not a time to be complacent and say we are doing great work in san francisco. this is a time to say, we did well and we have to keep doing better. we must lead the nation to fight back and make normal a world where all workers can live with dignity and decency. thank you. [applause] >> great. before we get too much further i want to acknowledge we have several of our partners from labor compliance today. the department of labor standards enforcement and the office of the director of industrial relations.

i believe also with the california department, i want to acknowledge all of you and welcome you here today. also with technical and professional employees local 21. thank you for attending as well. the next speaker is a san francisco worker, also a victim of minimum wage violation. [applause] [speaking spanish] [applause] >> hi everyone. and the member and leader of the

collective and i have been a member for the last five years. [speaking spanish] >> i want to thank all the organizations and all the people here. together, working side-by-side we've been able to accomplish our goals of hitting this minimum wage [speaking spanish] -. [speaking spanish]

>> voice of translator: i want to say that we can do this, and we did do this. we accomplished our goal of getting $15 an hour. beginning on the 1st of july, everyone will be getting paid at least $15 an hour. [speaking spanish] [laughter] >> voice of translator: i want you to see and observe how good it feels to give the sigh of relief to accomplish our goals of raising the minimum wage. [speaking spanish] >> voice of translator: we know it is expensive in san francisco to live. when minimum wage goes up,

everything else goes up. rent, food, and living. [speaking spanish] >> voice of translator: we want to keep fighting and make situations better for all the workers here in the city. [speaking spanish] >> voice of translator: i want to invite everyone to share this

message and share with the rest of our community who are not present, that on july 1st of this year, minimum wage in san francisco will go up to $15 an hour. [speaking spanish] >> voice of translator: with the organization's help, we will continue to push two more of an increase and improve these conditions. [speaking spanish]

>> voice of translator: in our communities, not just in organizations, we work together and there is always a great leader. [speaking spanish] [applause] >> voice of translator: as a member, i would like to recognize our leader, and all the rest of the members who continue to do the work needed in our community. [applause] [speaking spanish]

[cheers and applause] >> voice of translator: i would like to thank all the organizations present and everyone within the labor community is for this great achievement. we want to recognize the worker's present -- workers president -- present who are here and we will push for more of an increase, and thank you again. [applause] >> thank you elizabeth and alejandro. our next speaker, i'm really

excited he was able to make it back here with competing engagements on his schedule. representing district 11, including ingleside, outer mission park and excelsior, supervisor asha safai. >> thank you everyone. there's been a lot of speakers today. one of the things that distinguishes my district as we have the highest number of working families and men and women who are represented in organized labor in the entire city. representing the excelsior, the outer mission, mission, ingleside, lakeview, all of those neighborhoods, we have more -- or one in four households is a household of organized labor. organized labor is why i am standing here today. i am standing here on the shoulders and side-by-side with my brothers and sisters in the janitor's union. let's give it up for the

president all got miranda. [applause] eight years ago, she took me under her wing. may he rest in peace, our friend bob morale as it -- bob mireles and the union. those are the two groups that brought me into the labor movement, and like many of you that are sitting in the audience both as organizers, both as community members, and as men and women of labor, i was on the front line and played a very small role but an a very small role but an important role to help pass this -- help it get past the finish line. what that means to me is i will never forget the hard work that went into this. i'li will never forget the voics of organized labor, and it will help to guide me each and every day as i make decisions here on the board of supervisors. in the wake of the janus decision, as many of you have heard, it was a very, very hard week for labor. but one thing we know about organized labor, we always stand up and fight.

we will continue to fight and we will honor this victory and we will carry it forward and carry it forward for many more, and never backed down from the horrible decisions that are coming down from the federal government. thank you again and thank you for such a wonderful victory for the men and women and to the working families of san francisco. [applause] >> thank you. as we look forward to the fourth of july weekend and the celebration of our nation's independence, we should be mindful that the 15-dollar an hour minimum wage represents a different type of independence for san francisco workers. thank you everyone for attending today. we will have food shortly. please stick around and we can all get to know each other better. thank you again. [applause]excited.

>> when we had that big rainstorm last year that was racing down this hill i went out and when there was a break in the weather to make sure that was clear and that was definitely debris that draws down i make sure i have any bathroom we me and sweep that away that makes a big difference sfwrts can fleet floated and every year we were coming home he it was rainey noticed it the water with hill high on the corner and she was in her rain

boats so she had fun doing that. >> i saved our house. >> so adopt a drain 25 >> so adopt a drain 25 locations that you can - working for the city and county of san francisco will immerse you in a vibrant and dynamic city that's on the forefront of economic growth, the arts, and social change. our city has always been on the edge of progress and innovation. after all, we're at the meeting of land and sea. - our city is famous for its iconic scenery, historic designs, and world-class style. it's the birthplace of blue jeans, and where "the rock" holds court over the largest natural harbor on the west coast. - our 28,000 city and county employees play an important role in making san francisco what it is today. - we provide residents and visitors with a wide array of services, such as improving city streets and parks,

keeping communities safe, and driving buses and cable cars. - our employees enjoy competitive salaries, as well as generous benefits programs. but most importantly, working for the city and county of san francisco gives employees an opportunity to contribute their ideas, energy, and commitment to shape the city's future. - thank you for considering a career with the city and county of san francisco. >> i personally love the mega jobs. i think they're a lot of fun. i like being part of a build that is bigger than myself and outlast me and make a mark on a landscape or industry. ♪

we do a lot of the big sexy jobs, the stacked towers, transit center, a lot of the note worthy projects. i'm second generation construction. my dad was in it and for me it just felt right. i was about 16 when i first started drafting home plans for people and working my way through college. in college i became a project engineer on the job, replacing others who were there previously and took over for them. the transit center project is about a million square feet. the entire floor is for commuter buses to come in and drop off, there will be five and a half acre city park accessible to everyone. it has an amputheater and water

marsh that will filter it through to use it for landscaping. bay area council is big here in the area, and they have a gender equity group. i love going to the workshops. it's where i met jessica. >> we hit it off, we were both in the same field and the only two women in the same. >> through that friendship did we discover that our projects are interrelated. >> the projects provide the power from san jose to san francisco and end in the trans bay terminal where amanda was in charge of construction. >> without her project basically i have a fancy bus stop. she has headed up the women's network and i do, too. we have exchanged a lot of ideas

on how to get groups to work together. it's been a good partnership for us. >> women can play leadership role in this field. >> i tell him that the schedule is behind, his work is crappy. he starts dropping f-bombs and i say if you're going to talk to me like that, the meeting is over. so these are the challenges that we face over and over again. the reality, okay, but it is getting better i think. >> it has been great to bond with other women in the field. we lack diversity and so we have to support each other and change the culture a bit so more women see it as a great field that they can succeed in. >> what drew me in, i could use more of my mind than my body to

get the work done. >> it's important for women to network with each other, especially in construction. the percentage of women and men in construction is so different. it's hard to feel a part of something and you feel alone. >> it's fun to play a leadership role in an important project, this is important for the transportation of the entire peninsula. >> to have that person -- of women coming into construction, returning to construction from family leave and creating the network of women that can rely on each other. >> women are the main source of income in your household. show of hands. >> people are very charmed with the idea of the reverse role, that there's a dad at home instead of a mom. you won't have gender equity in the office until it's at home. >> whatever you do, be the best you can be.

don't say i can't do it, you can excel and do whatever you want. just put your mind into it. sustainability mission, even though the bikes are very minimal energy use. it still matters where the energy comes from and also part of the mission in sustainability is how we run everything, run our business. so having the lights come on with clean energy is important to us as well. we heard about cleanpowersf and learned they had commercial rates and signed up for that. it was super easy to sign up. our bookkeeper signed up online, it was like 15 minutes. nothing has changed, except now we have cleaner energy. it's an easy way to align your environmental proclivities and

goals around climate change and it's so easy that it's hard to not want to do it, and it doesn't really add anything to the bill.one. >> commons 3rd thursdays is a monthly event series really activate service center and un plaza food and music and other social activities oil stephanie the vice president of operations for this. >> in 2016 an initiative called the service center launched an effort by a bunch of the city agencies along with institutional stakeholder and community partners to have a program that is how to get people out here on a monthly and weekly and daily basis. >> my name is a - i'm with

the program manager and also commons 3rd thursdays will have live music important in the. >> the city approached us to provide food and beverages at the event kind of the core anchor to encourage attendees to food gives people a reason to stay i really like this like it is really nice like everybody is having a good time. >> our goal to enjoy the space and eat and drink and listen to music we wanted to inspire people with the un plaza as a place to hold they're community events. >> it is a great way to get people to know about global music and cuisine a great way to bring people together. >> a natural beautiful backdrop the asian art museum and . >> it is welcoming.

>> two more events left in the series so, please come and enjoy and check it out we're having a great time. >> we love our city being a san francisco based on company it was important to engage request san franciscans and tourists alike. >> we want to inspire people and everyone interested in providing and coming out for a large or small-scale event reach out to the commons 3rd thursdays and we'll direct you're seeing to the right people to get to ♪ >> about two years ago now i had my first child. and i thought when i come back, you know, i'm going to get back in the swing of things and i'll find a spot. and it wasn't really that way when i got back to work.

that's what really got me to think about the challenges that new mothers face when they come back to work. ♪ >> when it comes to innovative ideas and policies, san francisco is known to pave the way, fighting for social justice or advocating for the environment, our city serves as the example and leader many times over. and this year, it leads the nation again, but for a new reason. being the most supportive city of nursing mothers in the work place. >> i was inspired to work on legislation to help moms return to work, one of my legislative aids had a baby while working in the office and when she returned we had luckily just converted a bathroom at city hall into a lactation room. she was pumping a couple times a day and had it not been for the room around the hallway, i don't

know if she could have continued to provide breast milk for her baby. not all returning mothers have the same access, even though there's existing state laws on the issues. >> these moms usually work in low paying jobs and returning to work sooner and they don't feel well-supported at work. >> we started out by having legislation to mandate that all city offices and departments have accommodations for mothers to return to work and lactate. but this year we passed legislation for private companies to have lactation policies for all new moms returning to work. >> with the newcome -- accommodations, moms should have those to return back to work. >> what are legislation? >> we wanted to make it applicable to all, we created a

set of standards that can be achievable by everyone. >> do you have a few minutes today to give us a quick tour. >> i would love to. let's go. >> this is such an inviting space. what makes this a lactation room? >> as legislation requires it has the minimum standards, a seat, a surface to place your breast on, a clean space that doesn't have toxic chemicals or storage or anything like that. and we have electricity, we have plenty of outlets for pumps, for fridge. the things that make it a little extra, the fridge is in the room. and the sink is in the room. our legislation does require a fridge and sink nearby but it's all right in here. you can wash your pump and put your milk away and you don't have to put it in a fridge that you share with co-workers. >> the new standards will be applied to all businesses and places of employment in san

francisco. but are they achievable for the smaller employers in the city? >> i think small businesses rightfully have some concerns about providing lactation accommodations for employees, however we left a lot of leeway in the legislation to account for small businesses that may have small footprints. for example, we don't mandate that you have a lactation room, but rather lactation space. in city hall we have a lactation pod here open to the public. ♪ ♪ >> so the more we can change, especially in government offices, the more we can support women. >> i think for the work place to really offer support and encouragement for pumping and breast feeding mothers is necessary. >> what is most important about the legislation is that number

one, we require that an employer have a lactation policy in place and then have a conversation with a new hire as well as an employee who requests parental leave. otherwise a lot of times moms don't feel comfortable asking their boss for lactation accommodations. really it's hard to go back to the office after you have become a mom, you're leaving your heart outside of your body. when you can provide your child food from your body and know you're connecting with them in that way, i know it means a lot to a mommy motionlely and physically to be able to do that. and businesses and employers can just provide a space. if they don't have a room, they can provide a small space that is private and free from intrusion to help moms pump and that will attract moms to working in san francisco. >> if you want more information visit

sfdph.org/breastfeedingatwork. ♪

the budget and finance sub-committee. today is july 26th. we're waiting for sfgov-tv to catch up. all right. we're back. budget and finance sub-committee, today is july 26th, i want to welcome you to our meeting. and i thank sfgov-tv, and jesse and samuel who are assisting with the broadcast and miss