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  1. #1
    Senior Member Brian503a's Avatar
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    Home Depot hires mediator

    http://www.chicagotribune.com

    Home Depot hires mediator
    Cicero location seeks compromise over day laborers


    By Joseph Ruzich
    Special to the Tribune
    Published February 2, 2006


    A few weeks after five day laborers were arrested and accused of soliciting work outside a Home Depot store in Cicero, the home builder giant hired a mediator to help find a compromise to the situation.

    The battle between Home Depot and the laborers has been ongoing, but it has recently drawn the attention of an advocacy group, Cicero town officials and police and an anti-immigration group.

    On Jan. 7, about 30 members of the Chicago Minuteman Project picketed at the store over the role of day laborers, many of whom are illegal immigrants. The group urged contractors not to hire illegal workers. The protests were peaceful, but Cicero police were present in case things got out of hand. At the time, Cicero officials said they were frustrated by store officials' apparent lack of wanting to work out the problem.

    But on Jan. 23, Home Depot announced at a Cicero City Council meeting the hiring of Trudy Nichols, who will be meeting with town officials and the Latino Union, an advocacy group representing the day laborers, to seek a solution.

    Aside from the five arrests made in January, 55 day laborers were arrested during the summer at the Home Depot store on West 26th Street and South Cicero Avenue. All of the day laborers were charged with misdemeanor trespassing after store employees pointed out the alleged violators.

    "Under such complex matters as this, we felt a need to put someone on the ground to handle the situation," said Home Depot spokesman Yancey Casey.

    He said the store will continue to call the police on day laborers when they deem necessary.

    "It's not just with day laborers," he said, "we don't allow any sort of soliciting from people passing out leaflets to someone ringing a bell looking for donations at Christmas."

    Cicero spokesman Dan Proft said the town isn't taking sides, but he said police will continue to remove alleged violators if called upon to enforce the private property rights of the business.

    Proft said, however, that police will stop arresting multiple people at the same time. The Police Department has developed a policy in which Home Depot must describe a specific individual and problem for police to make an arrest. "The one issue we have is we don't want our police on this merry-go-round of having to intermittently arrest people for criminal trespassing, over and over again," said Proft. "It's not the best use of our police resources. That's one of the reasons why we're getting involved--to try and put an end to this situation.

    "But President [Larry] Dominick understands that they're just trying to get honest work to provide for their families," Proft said, referring to the day laborers.

    B. Loewe, of the Latino Union of Chicago, said he is confident that a solution will be found. He believes the current Home Depot's solicitation rule actually causes a danger for its customers. Loewe said that in a sweeping arrest at the store in June, a customer was mistakenly arrested while walking from his car to the store.
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  2. #2
    Senior Member Brian503a's Avatar
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    http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... thwest-hed

    Home Depot, day laborers still at impasse


    By Joseph Ruzich
    Special to the Tribune

    June 3, 2006

    Talks to resolve the use of the Home Depot store parking lot in Cicero as a pick-up point for day laborers have slowed even after the company hired a negotiatior to work with the city.

    Shortly after a number of laborers were arrested last summer and again in January because the store complained to police, Home Depot told the Town Council it had hired negotiator Trudy Nichols to meet with local officials and the Latino Union, an advocacy group representing the workers.

    There were talks until April, said a company spokesman, and there have been no arrests since January. But the company and Cicero disagree over the progress toward a compromise.

    Home Depot spokesman Yancey Casey said the company asked Cicero in April to write a letter stating what the company can do to resolve the issue. "As I understand it, the ball is in their court," Casey said. "We're just waiting for their word right now."

    But Cicero spokesman Dan Proft denied the existence of such a letter. "Home Depot is mistaken or confused," he said. "From Day 1, we said we aren't going to force or take a formal position on a solution. All we want to do is help facilitate a constructive dialogue."

    Problems with the day laborers and Home Depot stem from the arrests of 55 laborers last summer at the store on West 26th Street and South Cicero Avenue. They were charged with misdemeanor trespassing after store employees pointed them out to police. Five more laborers were arrested in January.

    Lately the store hasn't been calling police even though the laborers continue to congregate in the parking lot.
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