Tension rise over Kings Beach day laborers


Gathering in front of 7-Eleven has grown

Emma Garrard/Sierra Sun



By Julie Brown
Sierra Sun, jbrown@sierrasun.com
September 10, 2007

Every morning of every day of the year, a group of men, many of them Latino immigrants, gather in front of the 7-Eleven market in Kings Beach to wait for work.

A black cap shading his face, Victor Santos sat against a tree in a vacant lot opposite the convenience store Monday morning. His eyes followed each passing car.

Santos said he’s hired about once every three days, mostly for construction-type jobs. He said he makes around $15 an hour, most of which he sends back to Mexico to support his two sons and wife in Oaxaca, a state in Mexico’s south.

The group of 30 men — the number can vary from 10 to 50 — arrives around 7 a.m. every day, said Daniel Garcia, another hopeful in search of work. They wait three or four hours. If no work has come by late morning, the group disperses.

“It’s more opportunity right here; more work, more money,â€