Snell v. Byington

STURTEYANT, J.

The city and county of San Francisco is operating under and governed by a charter which took effect January 8, 1932. (Stats. 1931, p. 2973.) For some years it has been engaged in constructing a water system known as the Hetch Hetehy Project under which it is preparing to bring, through pipes, tunnels, etc., water from the Sierra Nevada Mountains to San Francisco. In 1932, it was engaged in boring certain tunnels in Alameda County. To do that construction work it let a contract to Hetch Hetehy Project Department, a municipal agency. It entered upon the performance of its contract and, at the time this action was commenced, it had approximately seven hundred and fifty employees — about four-fifths of whom were laborers and the others engineers, inspectors, etc. When the world-wide depression was affecting all lines of business an amendment to the charter was adopted which is known as section 70.1. (Stats. 1933, p. 3049.) After the amendment took effect the board of supervisors, acting thereunder, adopted a resolution reducing compensation of the officers and employees as provided in said section 70.1. Thereafter a controversy arose as to whether said section and the resolution adopted thereunder were applicable to the said employees and officers so engaged in the construction work being done in Alameda County. For the purpose

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of settling that controversy W. H. Snell, one of the employees, commenced this action in behalf of himself and all other employees of said Hetch Hetchy Project Department who are working exclusively on said construction work. The plaintiff’s complaint purports to state a cause of action asking for declaratory relief. (Code Civ. Proc., sec. 1060 et seq.) The fiscal officers were named as defendants and appeared and filed a general demurrer. It was sustained and, the plaintiff declining to amend, a judgment in favor of the defendants was entered. Prom that judgment the plaintiff has appealed.

The ease presents but one point and that is a question of statutory construction. The plaintiff contends that neither he nor any other of the employees of said Hetch Hetchy Project Department who are working outside of the city and county of San Francisco and employed exclusively on said aqueduct and tunnel construction work are subject to the provisions of said section 70.1 of the charter or to the salary and wage percentage deduction therein scheduled. On the other hand the defendants contend that the plaintiff and all other employees of the Hetch Hetchy Project Department are included within the terms of the statute, whether they are working inside of San Francisco or outside. The pertinent parts of section 70.1 are as follows: