Thread: CA: Job center closure doesn't deter day laborers

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Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Job center closure doesn't deter day laborers
It's been two years since City Council shut the doors, but men line the sidewalks every day.
By JEFF OVERLEY and FERMIN LEAL
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

COSTA MESA – This city's job center is long gone, but the day laborers officials tried to roust just won't budge.

Nearly two years after the center closed, dozens of men in blue jeans and sweatshirts line the sidewalks near the old job center site on any given day. Instead of taking numbers and waiting for a day's work, they mass at storefronts, on lawns and at nearby businesses, such as 7-Eleven and U-Haul.

It's the opposite scenario elected leaders were shooting for when they shuttered the city job center in 2005 in hopes of revitalizing the blighted Westside. Throngs of day laborers, then-Councilman Gary Monahan said, were a "depressing" site that was bringing the area down.

Business owners and laborers say the change hasn't exactly boosted neighborhood aesthetics, much less encouraged private investment in an area best known for its foundries, run-down apartments and gang members.

The job center "was well known all throughout Southern California," said Rufio Garay-Pablo, who stood on a curb seeking work on an overcast morning last week. "It was the most organized and best run. … Today, it's a real mess out here. You have people all up and down the street, and the businesses and the residents aren't happy."

Complaints about day laborers massing along streets and in parks were what spurred the center's creation in the first place. After opening in 1988, it quickly attracted a loyal following, with more than 100 workers eventually showing up each day to find jobs.

When the City Council voted 3-2 to lock the doors, officials said the complaints had been addressed, and that an anti-solicitation law would prevent old troubles from resurfacing.

But laborers interviewed for this story said that while citations are occasionally handed out, fines are a weak deterrent. "Where else are we going to go?" said Miguel Angel Muñoz-Careño. "It's the same everywhere you go. Employers still know this place has workers, so that's why we are here."

Soliciting work is constitutionally protected speech, with only modest limits permitted. Instead of leaving when the job center closed, laborers dispersed, said Oscar Becerra Mejia, co-owner of a 17th Street marine canvas shop. "It wasn't smart at all, because … now you see them all over the place," Becerra Mejia said.

One morning last week, police officers repeatedly cruised 17th Street, occasionally stopping to talk with laborers. Police Lt. Dale Birney said he couldn't confirm any uptick in complaints since the job center closed, either around the old job center property or at nearby businesses.

Asked if such patrols were a valuable use of law enforcement resources, Councilman Eric Bever said they show the city is "committed to quality-of-life issues."

"We've had a number of complaints, and (police are) responding to the desires of the community," said Bever, who was in the three-person council majority that voted to shut the center.

The city saves more than $100,000 each year with the center closed, and a private employment agency nearby offers a similar service. "Why should the taxpayers pay for a job center when a privately run employment agency is already meeting the need?" Bever asked.

But laborer Alfredo Ortiz, 37, said the center isn't popular because its service isn't free and because it requires workers to prove they're authorized to work in the country – a requirement the job center didn't have.

A manager at the private job center, called Labor Ready, said he was not authorized to speak with the press, and calls to a company spokeswoman were not immediately returned.

Laborers say that short-term gigs painting homes, laying tile or delivering phone books are harder to come by now, and that the job center's absence has stirred up competition that didn't exist before. Men line up six or seven deep when pickup trucks stop at a curb, and observers say that skirmishes often erupt.

David Ahlo, who owns a car shop where the job center once stood, said workers have become aggressive when seeking jobs from drivers. "I've seen guys get dragged, I've seen guys get almost run over," he said.

Many of the workers are uneducated, or are illegal immigrants, or both, and say they have few other options than plying the sidewalks. "Employers will keep coming to this area because it still has the reputation as a place for workers," said laborer Alejandro Camano. "Every day, there are always around 30 to 50 guys out here, and that's probably not going to change."

www.ocregister.com

Hey round em up and move em out.