Comcast wins

Board approves contract without change, but Peskin pursues another avenue to help workers

By Elizabeth Ody

San Francisco will now have to navigate a tricky legal path if city officials want to help end Comcast's union-busting practices, something labor and media-reform advocates hoped the Board of Supervisors would address as part of the franchise contract extension it narrowly approved with the company.

Board president Aaron Peskin – the swing vote in a series of six-to-five votes Sept. 13 to approve the contract as written – had told the Bay Guardian Sept. 19 that the labor amendment was "legitimate and reasonable" and that he was inclined to support it (see "The Comcast Cliffhanger," 9/21/05).

But during the Sept. 27 meeting about whether to give final approval to the contract, after being told by Comcast officials that any changes to the contract would kill the deal, Peskin voted to leave the agreement as is and instead announced his support of an alternate plan to enforce federal labor laws through an amendment to the San Francisco administrative code.

He presented the compromise as a win-win situation: Comcast's franchise agreement is extended without a fight, and by amending the administrative code, all franchisees would have to abide by federal labor regulations, including Pacific Gas and Electric Co. However, an amendment to the administrative code may make labor rights more difficult for the city to enforce than if it was a provision of the contract.

"Our experience with Comcast is they'll do whatever it takes, legal or illegal, to prevent workers from speaking out," Lisa Morowitz, of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), said.

If Comcast continues its alleged practice of firing and intimidating San Francisco workers who attempt to organize, the city could take any number of standard steps for enforcing local law. According to Sup. Ross Mirkarimi – who proposed the labor amendment to Comcast's contract – such a violation of local law might result in litigation, breach of contract, fiscal penalties, or nonrenewal of contract. But now that Comcast has its four-year extension, the city has lost some leverage over the company.

Deputy City Attorney Theresa Mueller told us a contract holder like Comcast could challenge the applicability of a law passed after finalizing a contract. As Morowitz points out, Comcast might also dispute the legal authority of San Francisco, since the National Labor Relations Board is the federally mandated entity for investigating labor concerns.

Comcast spokesperson Andrew Johnson did not return our calls when asked why Comcast so adamantly opposed the original labor amendment. Sup. Chris Daly said that the corporation probably wants to avoid setting a precedent for upcoming negotiations in other cities.

Daly said that he had looked into the possibility of a ballot measure overturning the Comcast vote, but that neither he nor the community of labor-rights supporters have the resources to gather the 20,972 signatures required to qualify this particular referendum in time for the November elections.

Still, Morowitz said the CWA and the board intend to work together over the coming weeks on the language of the administrative code amendment.

E-mail news@sfbg.com.