Legislation Seeks Restroom Access for City Workers

Public restrooms around the country are closed or open to limited use due to the coronavirus pandemic. In San Francisco, many public restrooms are unavailable for use at all—even for employees in the city’s Department of Public Works. Therefore, the union representing the public works employees announced its support for a ballot measure to create a separate city sanitation department, KCBS Radio reports.

Matt Haney, San Francisco Board of Supervisors representing District 6, wrote the measure. Haney told KCBS Radio that the proposition, “will create the Department of Sanitation and Streets, which most other major cities in the country have.” Haney said this proposition would help with the city’s restroom issue and help keep public streets cleaner.

Theresa Foglio-Ramirez, spokesperson for Laborers Union Local 261, the union that represents the workers, said public works employees need access to restrooms to clean themselves after a shift. “They’re out in the field cleaning urine, blood, picking up needles, garbage, contaminated debris, but they have nowhere that’s safe and sanitary to go wash up after doing this and just to be able to use the restroom.”

San Francisco voters will consider the proposed measure, Proposition B, on November 3.