Thread: Day Labor Center Moves Forward Santa Cruz CA

Effort to build day labor center moves forward, slowly
By GENEVIEVE BOOKWALTER
Posted: 08/03/2010 01:30:15 AM PDT


Jose Henriquez 45, came to Santa Cruz County 15 years ago to work in the fields. That job lasted one month.

It only took that long, Henriquez said, to realize that to make money, he needed skills that strawberry picking couldn't teach him. So he began looking for construction jobs as a day laborer.

Now, Henriquez said, "I am a carpenter, I am a concrete guy, I lay tile," and contractors come looking specifically for him on the sidewalk in front of Home Depot on 41st Avenue. On the best days he makes $25 an hour, he said. During bad weeks Henriquez might work two to three hours, three of the seven days. On really bad days an employer might stiff him.

Henriquez is one of an estimated 200 day laborers looking for work every day around the county. While the issue is nowhere near as controversial as in Arizona, where a recently passed law seeks to ban illegal immigrants from soliciting employment in public places, a three-year effort to create a center that day laborers could work out of has yet to get off the ground. The Arizona law was blocked by a federal judge last month just hours before taking effect.

In Santa Cruz County, concerned neighbors and some elected officials have been hesitant to help the labor center effort. At one point, supporters eyed Mid-County for the new center, but neighbors raised concerns about increased traffic and people, among other concerns.

"There was a study and I had lots of questions about it," said
county Supervisor John Leopold, whose district includes the northern part of 41st Avenue. "They didn't want to really address a lot of the issues," including cost, its overall use and indicators of success, Leopold said.

Supporters, on the other hand, say they continue to move forward -- albeit slowly -- in raising money for a secure place where workers like Henriquez can wait for daily employment without dodging cars or annoying nearby shop owners.

"It's a safer, more appropriate way to hire people," said David Foster of Santa Cruz, a longtime leader of the effort and current City Council candidate. "We are continuing to write grants and to look for funding and investigate a number of different possible sites."

On 41st Avenue, laborer Carlos Alonso, 25, said he came to the county six years ago to pick strawberries and turned to day labor in the offseason. Like Henriquez, he has learned specialized skills and often makes more money at jobs found on 41st Avenue than he did in the fields, even though this summer has been slow because of the glum economy, he said.

A day labor center, Alonso said, would be safer than the sidewalk and provide a central location for workers. It also would provide accountability, so if an employer doesn't pay for a job done -- which happens somewhat regularly, he said -- workers would have a name or license plate with which to track that person down.

Alonso said he travels from Watsonville to Soquel every day because the 41st Avenue Home Depot is bigger than the one in Pajaro Valley and contractors visit the store from all over the county. He is saving money to attend Cabrillo College, he said.

A center "would help a lot more than standing here," he said. "We could have a place where people could come. It would help a lot."

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_15664253

Excuse me, but isn't it against the law for illegal aliens to work in the U.S.? When is this kind of crap going to stop? Isn't this known as aiding and abetting?

On the best days he makes $25 an hour,

It seems Jose Illegal is now way better off than Joe Legal.

Jose Henriquez 45, came to Santa Cruz County 15 years ago to work in the fields. That job lasted one month..... Now, Henriquez said, "I am a carpenter, I am a concrete guy, I lay tile," and contractors come looking specifically for him on the sidewalk in front of Home Depot on 41st Avenue..... You too can go from strawberry picker to carpenter In just 15 years !! Join the AFL-CIO and they will show you how.... I hear there looking for a few good Illegals right now....

Originally Posted by topsecret10

Jose Henriquez 45, came to Santa Cruz County 15 years ago to work in the fields. That job lasted one month..... Now, Henriquez said, "I am a carpenter, I am a concrete guy, I lay tile," and contractors come looking specifically for him on the sidewalk in front of Home Depot on 41st Avenue..... You too can go from strawberry picker to carpenter In just 15 years !! Join the AFL-CIO and they will show you how.... I hear there looking for a few good Illegals right now....

You do have a way with words Top Secret Ten.........