Supervisor Eric Mar: Concert back; worker rights

Outside Lands Returns
The three-day Outside Lands Music Festival returns to Golden Gate Park on Aug. 8 - 10. This year's lineup is, once again, nothing less than stellar.

Through my advocacy and that of the leaders of the Planning Association for the Richmond (PAR) and numerous community residents, the management of Outside Lands, by Another Planet Entertainment (APE), has improved the festival every year it has been held.

Impact mitigations include much improved monitoring of the sound impacts in the community; deploying parking control officers and tow trucks near the festival to quickly respond to blocked driveways and other parking violations; a robust annual outreach plan, including a mailer to all homes and businesses within four blocks of the park; deploying crews to clean up litter in the surrounding neighborhoods; and a strengthened transportation plan that encourages festival attendees to arrive by Muni, private shuttles, bicycles or walking.

Since its inception in 2007, Outside Lands has generated more than $14 million in revenue for the City as well as other tangible benefits for Golden Gate Park and the surrounding neighborhoods.

Below is important information regarding the event:

Community hotline: Again this year, there will be a community hotline to respond to any issues that may affect you during the festival. The festival hotline will be available from 10 a.m. - 11 p.m. on festival days. The hotline number is (415) 390-2737.

Parking and alternative means of transportation: To help alleviate vehicle congestion, I strongly encourage patrons to take alternative means of transportation to the festival, including Muni, private shuttles, biking or walking. There will be two dedicated tow trucks and one parking control officer on each side of the park to quickly respond to any blocked driveways or any other parking issues related to the festival. The SF Recreation and Park Department has printed signs alerting attendees to not block driveways, which may be obtained at the front desk of McLaren Lodge at 501 Stanyan St. If you need to have a vehicle towed, call the MTA directly at (415) 553-1237 or (415) 553-1200.

Park access: To ensure safety and security of both the public and working crews, park locations will close and reopen as follows:

Polo Field: Wednesday, July 30, 6 a.m. - Thursday, Aug. 14, 8 p.m.;

Hellman Hollow: Sunday, Aug. 3, 6 a.m. - Wednesday, Aug. 13, 8 p.m.;

Lindley Meadow (east end): Monday, Aug. 4, 8 a.m. - Tuesday, Aug. 12, 8 p.m. Lindley Meadow (west end): Tuesday, Aug. 5, 8 a.m. - Tuesday, Aug. 12, 8 p.m.;

Marx Meadow: Monday, Aug. 4, 6 a.m. - Monday, Aug. 11, 8 p.m.

Road closures: We would like to make you aware of the following road closures due to the event, so that you may plan accordingly. The following entrances will be closed to the public from Thursday, Aug 7, at 8 p.m., through Sunday, Aug 10, at 11 p.m.:

 On the north side of the park:

• Transverse Drive at Crossover Drive;

• JFK Drive at Transverse Drive;

• 30th Avenue;

• 36th Avenue;

• 43rd Avenue (Chain of Lakes Drive);

• 47th Avenue;

• John F. Kennedy Drive at the Great Highway.

On the south side of the park:

• Martin Luther King Jr. Drive at Crossover Drive;

• 25th Avenue;

• 41st Avenue (Chain of Lakes Drive);

• Martin Luther King Jr. Drive at Lincoln Way;

• Sunset Boulevard at Irving Street.

My legislative aide, Nick Pagoulatos, will be monitoring calls and e-mails throughout the event. He can be reached at (415) 554-7412 or via e-mail at [email protected].

Introducing the Retail Workers Bill of Rights
Low wages are a problem but increasingly so are a lack of hours. Corporate retailers' abusive scheduling practices are causing a crisis of underemployment for retail workers. Workers who can't get the hours they need to get by are vulnerable to poverty. One in four involuntary part-time workers lives in poverty, versus one in 20 full-time workers.

Workers struggle not just with shrinking hours but also unpredictable schedules, which makes it impossible to set a budget, schedule medical appointments or arrange for care for their loved ones. On top of their irregular schedules, workers find themselves kept on-call, thrusting their lives even further into precarious situations. Scheduling practices affect how much retail workers take home in pay, whether or not they receive health benefits, and their ability to balance life and work.

In July, Congressman George Miller introduced historic legislation titled the "Schedules that Work Act." It seeks to ensure that workers have:

• a voice in their work schedules;

• the predictability and stability they need to meet the dual demands of work and family, and; 

• a fair shot at achieving economic security for themselves and their families.

On July 29, I introduced legislation with goals similar to Miller's bill.

I've been working for years with a broad-based coalition of community, labor and small business groups to develop the proposed ordinance we're calling the "Retail Workers Bill of Rights." It will promote full-time employment, discourage abusive on-call scheduling practices, and ensure job security for tens of thousands of retail, food service, hotel and bank workers at large formula retail businesses.

Like the minimum wage, paid sick leave and healthcare security ordinances, San Francisco can set a new standard with this ground-breaking policy.

Please contact my aide Pagoulatos with questions or comments.

For more information on the campaign to improve workers' lives, please go to the website at www.retailworkerrights.com.

San Francisco Supervisor Eric Mar represents District 1.