News that GGRA has decided to file an en banc appeal of the Ninth Circuit’s ruling upholding the City’s Healthcare Security Ordinance got supporters of the City’s ordinance expressing dismay and puzzlement.
They also declared themselves troubled by what they call the apparent hypocrisy of GGRA members who express their support for the ordinance in surcharge notices.
Tim Paulson, San Francisco Labor Council executive director, believes that the City’s healthcare ordinance creates a level playing field for employers.
“It gives credit to employers who already offer healthcare to their employees and also allows other employers to comply without disrupting ERISA plans,” Paulson said. “The Healthcare Ordinance is sound business policy as well as a win for San Franciscans.”
Calling the Ninth Circuit’s September 30 decision to uphold the City’s ordinance, “a huge win for hard-working men and women in San Francisco who are currently without access to healthcare,” Paulson said, “We need more healthcare in San Francisco, not less.”
Paulsen said he was “particularly troubled by the apparent hypocrisy of GGRA member restaurants for expressing public support and admiration for a program that provides health and well-being to thousands of restaurant workers, while their GGRA membership dues pay the legal fees to dismantle it.”
Paulson was referring to the fact that some GGRA member restaurants have issued surcharge notices that contain comments that appear to be supportive of SF’s healthcare program, while GGRA seeks to overturn the ordinance.
IGGRA members Catch, Pomodoro, AsiaSF, Bar Bambino and Luna Park have issued notices in which they express support for the ordinance and explain that they are adding a surcharge to each check to cover these new healthcare related costs. The notices do not mention GGRA’s lawsuit.