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Day laborers still seek jobs near Chandler intersection

City crackdown on stopped cars loses traction

Eugene Mulero
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 19, 2006 12:00 AM

CHANDLER - Victor Pasqual and Saul Domingues stood near the corner of Arizona Avenue and Boston Street, waiting for a landscaper or contractor to hire them for the day, or, if they're lucky, the week.

The pair stood among nearly two dozen men in a similar situation: mostly immigrants from Mexico or other countries in Central America looking for work.



In September, the city began a special no-stopping enforcement along Arizona Avenue south of downtown in the areas where the laborers congregate. But despite warning signs, the crackdown is now over, city and police officials say.

The ordinance targeted contractors who stop or park on the road, a move the city said was designed to ensure the safety of laborers and other pedestrians and to encourage use of a nearby day-labor center.

City officials say the enforcement has cut back on the number of vehicles that stop. But day laborers say they still show up in the same spots because it's the best place to land a job.

Isaias Vazquez, a day laborer originally from Mexico, said waiting along the street puts the workers in a better position to land a job.

"The contractors will pick up the guys they see outside," Vazquez said in Spanish.

Chandler police Detective Livi Kacic said that from Sept. 26 to Nov. 16, there were 34 citations issued for illegal stopping. From Nov. 21 to Dec. 1, there were no citations, and the police have stopped tracking them.

"We no longer have the 'special enforcement,' and the regular enforcement is left to the normal staffing of officers on the road," Kacic said. "Since this is no longer a special detail, we do not track the citations given in this particular area."

Pasqual and Domingues said they came here from Mexico two months ago for better wages. So far, their stints as day laborers have resulted in several hundred dollars a week for manual home-improvement tasks, working the patios and yards of area residents.

"We are fighting for jobs, and we don't earn a lot of money," Domingues said.

If a recession has occurred in the demand for day laborers, Chandler officials claim they had something to do with it.

Leah Powell, Chandler assistant to the city manager, insists the "special enforcement" in the fall has minimized the amount of traffic violations along Arizona Avenue.

City officials have tried to encourage day laborers to wait for work at the privately funded day-labor center at 501 S. Arizona Ave., behind the Light and Life Free Methodist Church. It provides laborers with occasional breakfasts and shelter.

Pastor José González, who runs the center, said use of the center spiked in the fall when the crackdown started. But since, attendance has returned to about 100 potential laborers in an average week.

Kacic said if parking violations in that area increase, police will determine whether they need another focused enforcement.