Job center could solve day laborer problem

By Charles Thompson Jr.
Latino workers on the Carrboro corner are searching for day jobs, weekly jobs, anything they can get (Chapel Hill News "Problems at Carrboro corner," 7/29/2007). They run up to trucks and cars that stop and compete with one another for the drivers' attention. Those who fail to get work sit and pass the time as best they can, some drinking beer as the day and the heat wear on.

Day labor is hard and often depressing because it is never dependable. It's even harder when some of those hired are shafted. There is a promise of pay at the end of the week and the boss just doesn't come back. Their desperation works to the benefit of the unscrupulous employers. Their competition with one another means they're willing to jump into the back of a pickup before they know anything about the work. Their language barrier means they often can't ask for details.

Passersby watch as the workers wait all hours hoping for the next truck to stop and offer a landscaping job. The trash piles up where workers wait. No one really thinks this pattern is good, least of all the workers themselves. I don't know any day laborer, and I have talked with many, who really prefers waiting all day on the street corner, whether drinking beer or not. They want work -- a steady job regardless of how hard it is.

I have a proposal for Carrboro and Chapel Hill based on Jupiter, Fla. In Jupiter, there is a labor center called El Sol where I have been making a film. El Sol, using dozens of volunteers, provides a place for workers to wait and a system for registering workers and laborers. Those hiring workers must give their names, contact information, and rate of pay. A lottery system helps make the selection of workers fair. The local police provide protection. Local churches provide refreshments and direct services. Medical clinics provide health screenings. Students provide English classes. Workers sit inside where they are safe and away from traffic. If they are drinking, they are turned away. Workers themselves take turns patrolling the grounds making sure no one jumps into trucks and offers their labor at a discount. Those who patrol or mop floors are offered jobs first the following day. Employers get to give feedback to workers through interpreters. If there is a work problem, there is mediation.

Jupiter's street corners where workers once waited have been cleaned up and most every day laborer in town participates in El Sol, particularly because the police patrol and pick up those on the streets and take them to El Sol, where they must register. Workers sit in an air-conditioned building and take classes or watch television while waiting for jobs. The Center creates special work identification cards. Because of the commitment of so many, the Center seems to be working. There are other successful centers around the country. Why not here?

Rather than pit those who want a clean community against the advocates for new immigrants, Carrboro and Chapel Hill can do better. We can find a building to house our own labor center. I believe there is funding out there and dozens of retirees and students willing to do their part. We have members of religious communities surely willing to help. We have a large number of people who would hire day laborers if they knew the workers were screened and their work instructions translated for them. I propose that we start a Chapel Hill/Carrboro Labor Center and volunteer to do my part. Anyone interested is welcome to e-mail me at cdthomps@duke.edu


Charles D. Thompson Jr., Ph.D., lives in Chapel Hill and teaches at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University.

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