San Francisco city officials, including Board President Rafael Mandelman and Supervisor Connie Chan, and a California state senator were arrested at San Francisco International Airport on Friday during a May Day protest against conditions for airport workers and federal immigration agents’ presence in airports across the country.
The airport workers’ union picketed for higher wages and fully funded healthcare. Activist groups who joined the protest on Friday decried Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s presence at airports.
Unlike other airports around the country, ICE has not been deployed to assist TSA agents at SFO because the airport uses private contractors rather than federal employees.
But on March 22, a mother and her child were forcibly detained by ICE officials at SFO as the family was being escorted by federal agents to their home country of Guatemala. San Francisco police officers looked on, prompting anger from anti-immigration enforcement activists and concern that SFPD acted in breach of California sanctuary law by “assisting” while creating a boundary around the detention.
Chan, Mandelman and other city and state officials, including state Sen. Josh Becker and former supervisor Jane Kim, blocked the street to the international terminal, holding a banner in support of the union.
“This is our moment,” said Chan before her arrest. “We’re gonna let all these greedy corporations know the SFO airport is the people’s airport. Our workers deserve fair pay and fair benefits.”
A San Francisco police officer standing behind city officials warned them that if they did not clear the area within 10 minutes they would be arrested, and motioned for anyone standing on the street to move to the curb and clear the street.
Supervisor Jackie Fielder, who is currently on a leave of absence following a personal health crisis, was also in attendance, but left before the arrests began.
Kim, Chan, Mandelman, and Becker were arrested. The officials calmly complied with the officers, and allowed them to tie their hands with zip ties and lead them into the airport.
At 1 p.m., approximately one hour after Chan and other city officials were arrested, the San Francisco Police Department released a statement saying that there are “no arrests or reports of injuries at this time.”
“Public safety is our top priority,” read the statement, referring to a “First Amendment Activity” taking place at the airport. “We are working closely with SFO and our law enforcement partners to ensure adequate resources make it as safe as possible.”
Airport workers have been bargaining with the airport for over a year to increase their salaries. The union is demanding a $30 dollar per hour wage increase, fully funded healthcare, and protection for immigrant workers’ from ICE’s expansion into airports across the country.
“This needs to be a place where it’s safe for everybody,” said Sanjay Garla, first vice president at SEIU United Service Workers West. “That means for the workers, that means for the passengers … for everybody here, it means ICE out of SFO.”
From 11 a.m. until the late afternoon, picketers encircled the terminal, banging drums and chanting, “SFO shut it down, show them this is a union town!” At the beginning of the protest, organizers marched into the airport as airport workers and travelers looked on, some pulling out their phones to snap photos.
This action is part of nationwide May Day protests and boycotts. In San Francisco, there is another action scheduled for 2 p.m. at Civic Center Plaza, and a “workers over billionaires” action planned for 4 p.m. at Embarcadero Plaza.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Such a performative waste of time and city resources, all to inconvenience hardworking people trying to travel. Glad Jackie Fielder could make it out during her leave of absence from her job supposedly helping district 9 constituents but actually leaving them in the lurch while her district has become a dumping ground for the city’s drug dealers and other problems.
“Supervisor Jackie Fielder, who is currently on medical leave, was also in attendance, but left before the arrests began.”
So Fielder is too sick to sit in an office but can show up for a protest?
I thought Mandelman was too smart to get caught up in a stunt like this. Hope he makes bail.
Exactly on all counts! Also really surprised Mandelman got involved in this. He is generally above these stunts.
Glad to see them trying to promote human rights .
Wish they would also consider helping out tax paying citizens in SF in neighborhoods that are out of control with lawlessness crime drug dens garbage feces urine dogs without leashes graffiti Loud music and completely blocked sidewalks .
The Lower Polk/ Larkin containment zone for drug harm and deaths continue without improvement despite requests to the city for over 15 years .
If they can go outside their district to the airport to protest then why cannot they spend a saturday in district 5 where the neglect and ongoing harm continues?
How about protesting on an alleyway where the residents have called the city police and 311 over 30,000 times yet nothing changes!
I would hope elected officials help citizens who are still forced to use the street with their walkers and fear for their safety on their block that is controlled by drug dealers who kick addicts to force them to buy more poison.
Photo ops are probably better at the airport?
Can persons with criminal records and arrests still serve in city government or should they step down or at least be put on leave until their day in court ?
Would like to see supervisors in the alleyways on Saturdays helping the addicts homeless and residents .
15 years and still waiting .
Mandelman???
Kind of surprised here too.
He wants to step up to state office and needs the PR. these “arrests” are scripted performance art.
But for state-wide offices you need to present as more moderate and centrist.
Joining a protest with the likes of Fielder, Chan and Kim sends the opposite message: That you’d rather demonstrate than govern.
You don’t win the hearts and minds of the public by annoying them with illegal activity like blocking roads and making them miss their flights, just to get attention, often for your campaign. It’s just theater. Sad to see Jane Kim do this kind of thing. She should know better.
I know my comment isn’t really on point, but having volunteered on the SFSPCA Wag Brigade, I can at least attest to the treatment of airport workers.
If you are just passing through, there is no way to know how the vast majority of workers you encounter hold multiple part-time positions over the course of a work day/week and are treated really, really poorly by just about everyone, management and travelers alike.
Even though it was definitely not our role, my dog and I befriended many of these people. In my observations, the wheelchair operators were among the most harassed and mistreated. At least now I know better to always give them the right of way and at least make eye contact.
These workers just deserve so much more than they get.
“ Airport workers have been bargaining with the airport for over a year to increase their salaries. The union is demanding a $30 dollar per hour wage increase, fully funded healthcare…”
The healthcare for SFO workers is already fully funded as the Board of Supervisors mandated through the Healthy Airport Ordinance for health insurance (90% actuarial value) for employees, spouses and dependents at no cost to the employee. It’s platinum level and free. Is the union unaware of this?
I guess someone decided they needed to do something newsworthy to move up from third place at 11%.
Could someone help me here – who is bargaining with whom? Wages at SFO are set by Ordinance – there are living wage measures which control wages and benefits at SFO.
If workers want higher wages at SFO, they should be calling the same people who got arrested protesting today. This isn’t a union negotiation with SFO or airlines being a big bad employer – wages and benefit levels at the airport are set by City government.
The ordinance is only for those employed directly by the airport, which is extremely minimal.
It is, as always, the contractors who run everything from security to food to wheelchairs to smartcarts, to shuttles.
Some leaders are easier to follow than others.
Kind of weird that those SFPD hats have shotguns that look a lot like a Confederate Flag
I guess they don’t have any constituents who take international flights. I mean, who in San Francisco travels to other countries?
There’s nothing wrong with breaking the law like this to make a political point.
What we are seeing here, tho, is not principled action, rather pols sucking up to labor in expectation of future political support.
i wish local reporters would point out that Rafael is about to run for a higher office and needs the PR – these and other “arrests” like them are ceremonial and scripted, and planned in advance with SFPD. It’s been like that for years. By reporting that they were arrested you make it seem like they did something extraordinary to be singled out but that is not the case.
People have the right to protest peacefully—as long as no one gets hurt and nothing is blocked. Being an official doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want. That kind of behavior reflects on the city you represent or represented.
I love where there are people talking about “our tax dollars” and “I don’t see them out helping drug addicts! and cleaning feces off the street!”. In my experience, those are the same people who actively fight every single attempt to help homelessness besides imprisonment.
Personally, I’m glad to see ANY resistance at all against ICE here. I’m exausted with people texting me asking for $5 because they’re so mad or making speeches to empty rooms or running for office but never being able to say ANYTHING about what they’ve done. I’d prefer to see some self immolation on the steps of congress, but I suppose an arrest is better than nothing. Certainly aren’t going to see that from weiner or Chakrabarti (not that I really have much against them)
So, call it political performance or say it makes SF look bad or say that you’re actually really buddy buddy with airport people and therefore this stuff is bad – but it really isn’t. If you don’t want to go full Luigi, then your options are really pretty limited. This mayor sees SF as an interesting puzzle. He’s going to try to figure it out and then when he’s done playing, he’ll go back to his ivory tower and look for another play-thing. The people getting pulled off the street didn’t vote for him, so he doesn’t care. The people ON the street didn’t vote for him, so why would care. The people who talk about “our tax dollars” care about their tax-dollars – when it is something they don’t like. A new billion dollar tank? Sure. SNAP benefits? OUR TAX DOLLARS!!!
Maybe I’m a crank, but I’m glad some politicians went and got arrested. As far as I’m concerned, not a single democrat politician should be able to justify NOT being arrested for protesting.
Well I guess I’m voting for Ben Allen for Insurance Commissioner after Jane Kim’s arrest.