Dear Mayor London Breed and Board President Malia Cohen:

We strongly urge you to publicly support passing the Living Wage amendments to raise wages for low-wage workers with whom the City contracts to provide services to the community, and to sign them into law.  These low-wage workers are not paid enough to support their families.  They deserve respect for the work that they do. They take care of our elderly and disabled.  They take care of the homeless so that they can transition off the streets.  They mentor our youth so that they can pursue a productive role in our community.  They provide counseling to families in need.  They provide health care services. They educate people on their legal rights and provide legal referrals.

These workers provide valuable services to the community.  These low-wage workers are being driven out of the City because they cannot afford to live here any longer.  We need to retain these workers to ensure quality services to the residents of the City.  We urge you to raise wages in the living wage law and to fund non-profit organizations that provide services to the community so that they can raise the wages of their lowest-paid workers to just $16.86 per hour.

It is a matter of making this a political priority to raise the wages of low-wage workers.  This is the right thing to do.