A takeover would face opposition from PG&E’s unions. Tom Dalzell, business manager of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245, which represents 17,000 PG&E employees and contractors, said his union would oppose the proposed acquisition by San Francisco, and questioned whether the city had the legal right to make this move without a public vote.
Moreover, Mr. Dalzell added, “I think their offer is off by a factor of four. They don’t have the workforce either—the underground workers, the engineers to run the system.”
The union helped defeat initiatives in 2001 and 2003 to create a city-owned utility, and credited Gov. Gavin Newsom ’s role in assisting it then when he served as both mayor and supervisor of San Francisco.