The Work After June
The June primary gave San Francisco’s labor movement plenty to study. More importantly, it gave us our work.
Let’s call it and tell it like it is: Scott Wiener finished first in the race to succeed Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, but nearly 60% of SF voters chose someone else. Wiener received 40.73% of the vote. Connie Chan received 29.71%. Saikat Chakrabarti received 17.67%.
That’s neither a rounding error nor a footnote. That is a message.
Working people are not buying what Sacramento, corporate-backed politicians, and the status quo are selling them — not when housing costs are pushing families out; healthcare is still too expensive; public services are stretched thin; and the people who build, clean, drive, teach, care for, and protect this city are still fighting to afford the city they serve.
So, San Francisco showed up to vote on Tuesday, June 2. More than 271,000 ballots were counted, with turnout at 50.82%. Statewide turnout was 40.6%.
That matters. Voters here were paying attention. They were choosing what was right for them. Workers are not politically disengaged. Quite the contrary. They’re making decisions.
The question is whether politicians are willing to listen to us.
Voters also sent a clear message by approving Measure A, the Earthquake Safety and Emergency Response bond, with more than 203,000 yes votes and 80.72% support. To the San Franciscans who voted yes: Thank you.
Our trades and our firefighters leaned in on Measure A because they knew what was at stake.
“California is the greatest state in the union, but we are strongest when workers have a voice.”
Fire stations have to stand after the shaking stops. Emergency firefighting water systems have to work when gas lines rupture and fires start. Public safety buildings cannot collapse on the people who we expect to run toward danger. Muni infrastructure has to be ready to move people, workers, and first responders when disaster hits.
That’s the kind of politics we should be proud of. It’s all about safety, jobs, apprenticeships, infrastructure, and public dollars doing public good. When building trades workers and firefighters stand shoulder-to-shoulder, it reminds voters that organized labor isn’t just some special interest. We are the people who build and protect the City.
The governor’s race was just as dizzying. It involved a long field, big names, big money, and a debate that felt more like a test of frustration than a real conversation about working-class solutions. In San Francisco, Tom Steyer led with just over 39%. Statewide, Xavier Becerra won out, followed by Steve Hilton and Steyer.
Plenty of people are simply glad that part is over. Organizers see something else, which is the fight ahead. November is coming. The debate can’t just be a national cable news question about whether or not Democrats can deliver.
The real question is much more important: Will working people have power?
California is the greatest state in the union, but we are strongest when workers have a voice. Better schools, better healthcare, stronger safety protections, pensions, living wages, and real rights on the job don’t happen by accident. They don’t happen just because one party has a majority.
They happen because workers organize. They happen because unions create density. They happen because everyday people fight to gain enough power to make government, employers, and elected officials truly accountable to the communities they claim to serve.
That’s why union solidarity matters so much right now.
Endorsements also matter. They aren’t handed down from the sky. They come from union democracy — from members, delegates, committees, debate, disagreement, and votes.
But deciding on and declaring endorsements can’t be the end of our work. It must be the beginning of deeper accountability.
We have to lean in. We must make sure campaigns reflect our values — in their policies, their donors, their field programs, their public commitments, and their teams. We can’t simply endorse candidates and then step back as if the rest is up to them. Our political work is an extension of our union work.
Politics is neither a dirty word nor a cynical exercise unless we let it become one. At its best, politics democratizes civic life in the same way that unions democratize the workplace. On the jobsite, in the shop, or in the hiring hall, union democracy means members have a voice. They vote, organize, hold leadership accountable, and stand together when it counts.
Civic life should be no different.
Now, we reorganize, recharge, and recommit. We redouble our effort to win working-class issues and working-class candidates at the ballot box in November
June sent the message. November is when we answer it.