San Francisco students protest cuts to summer internship program at City Hall

San Francisco high school students gathered at City Hall on Thursday to fight a proposed cut that could eliminate YouthWorks, the city-funded summer internship program many teens see as a first paycheck and a path into public service. Signs in the crowd read, “Jobs for teens over billionaire budgets” and “Teens shouldn’t have to protest the actions of adults,” as students pressed city leaders to preserve slots that connect young people to paid work.

The San Francisco Human Rights Commission has proposed cutting $2 million from YouthWorks, a major share of its current $2.4 million budget. The program sits inside a much larger city budget fight, with Mayor Daniel Lurie directing departments to trim around 500 positions to save about $100 million as San Francisco confronts an $877 million budget shortfall and looks to cut nearly $400 million in annual spending. Youth workers say the internship reductions would land hardest on students who rely on city jobs for income, structure and experience.

The cuts also collide with the city’s own public pitch to young workers. SF.gov says Opportunities for All is open to people who live or attend school in San Francisco, and its Summer 2026 applications closed April 10. The site also lists total youth workforce development funding at $10,643,000, even as officials weigh reductions to programs marketed as pipelines into civic life. Project Pull, another city internship program, is described as a way to prepare interns for STEAM careers and future City and County jobs.

Educators and youth advocates argue the programs do more than fill a résumé line. San Francisco Unified School District staff have said post-program surveys showed students gained self-confidence, communicated more easily with adults and left with clearer career goals. That matters in neighborhoods and school communities where paid summer work can shape whether a student spends the break earning money, building skills and staying connected to adults, or scrambling for other options.

Thursday’s rally also reflected a broader resistance to austerity at City Hall. More than 1,000 labor and community organizers previously gathered there to oppose the mayor’s budget, and the internship fight now adds student voices to a larger clash over which services San Francisco will protect and which it will cut. For teens hoping to land a city job this summer, the decision could determine whether those opportunities remain a bridge to adulthood or disappear in the budget squeeze.