Ensure Seismic Safety for DPH Workers Ordered to Return to Work
Daniel Tsai, Director of Health
Hundreds of Department of Public Health (DPH) workers in the City and County of San Francisco continue to occupy buildings with a Seismic Hazard Rating (SHR) of “4: Partial/Total Collapse (Very Poor Performance).” 1 SHR 4 is the worst possible seismic safety rating given by the San Francisco Department of Public Works.
These unsafe buildings include the previous DPH headquarters at 101 Grove St, as well as the historic red brick buildings along Potrero Avenue at San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH), which, according to the City’s seismic assessment report, “do not meet acceptable life safety standards.”
The City has known about this problem at SFGH for over 30 years. Although parts of the hospital campus have been retrofitted, the brick buildings along Potrero have not. Facilities did, however, install “safety netting” on the exterior of some buildings to prevent masonry debris from falling onto the heads of people walking below.
Requiring staff to return to the office four days a week in seismically unsafe office space would be unjustifiable. Not only would it violate the trust of hundreds of DPH staff, but it could cause unnecessary damage to the Department. The City must be exposing itself to serious legal liability by continuing to require staff to work in buildings the City has designated as seismically unsafe. Most importantly, if a big earthquake were to strike, the avoidable injury or death would be unconscionable. There is a clear moral and practical obligation to prevent such a tragedy, and we’ve worked in good faith with DPH Labor Relations and IT leadership over the last year on a solution to mitigate the risk to DPH staff.
Let us be clear - this letter is not a request to continue working remotely, but rather a plea for safe onsite workspace for all DPH staff. Due to the lack of seismically safe worksite space available, the Department elected to expand remote work for staff who work in Building 20 and Building 40, and we believe this agreement should be upheld unless and until our worksite’s Seismic Hazard Rating meets acceptable life safety standards.
Add your name to stand with city workers, who wish to directly to discuss this safety issue in greater depth with Director Tsai. We ask that he considers this life-safety concern as he develops a solution for in-person work that does not require staff to work in seismically unsafe buildings.Sponsored by
To:
Daniel Tsai, Director of Health
From:
[Your Name]
Dear Director Tsai,
Welcome to the San Francisco Department of Public Health (DPH)! In your new role as Director of Health, you are charged with protecting and promoting the health of all San Franciscans. In keeping with this goal, we immediately need your fresh leadership to address a serious ongoing life-safety issue that affects your staff - seismically unsafe office buildings.
Hundreds of DPH workers in the City and County of San Francisco continue to occupy buildings with a Seismic Hazard Rating (SHR) of “4: Partial/Total Collapse (Very Poor Performance).” 1 SHR 4 is the worst possible seismic safety rating given by the San Francisco Department of Public Works.
These unsafe buildings include the previous DPH headquarters at 101 Grove St, as well as the historic red brick buildings along Potrero Avenue at San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH), which, according to the City’s seismic assessment report, “do not meet acceptable life safety standards.”
The City has known about this problem at SFGH for over 30 years. Although parts of the hospital campus have been retrofitted, the brick buildings along Potrero have not. Facilities did, however, install “safety netting” on the exterior of some buildings to prevent masonry debris from falling onto the heads of people walking below.
Requiring staff to return to the office four days a week in seismically unsafe office space would be unjustifiable. Not only would it violate the trust of hundreds of DPH staff, but it could cause unnecessary damage to the Department. The City must be exposing itself to serious legal liability by continuing to require staff to work in buildings the City has designated as seismically unsafe. Most importantly, if a big earthquake were to strike, the avoidable injury or death would be unconscionable. There is a clear moral and practical obligation to prevent such a tragedy, and we’ve worked in good faith with DPH Labor Relations and IT leadership over the last year on a solution to mitigate the risk to DPH staff.
Let us be clear - this letter is not a request to continue working remotely, but rather a plea for safe onsite workspace for all DPH staff. Due to the lack of seismically safe worksite space available, the Department elected to expand remote work for staff who work in Building 20 and Building 40, and we believe this agreement should be upheld unless and until our worksite’s Seismic Hazard Rating meets acceptable life safety standards.
We would like to meet with you directly to discuss this issue in greater depth. We ask that you consider this life-safety concern as you develop a solution for in-person work that does not require your staff to work in seismically unsafe buildings.
We, the undersigned, are proud IFPTE Local 21 members, and we look forward to meeting with you to discuss this issue together.