Thread: Day Lord Work Drying Up

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Day labor work drying up
As economy sours and construction jobs disappear, migrant workers wait all day on street corners, but employment sparse

By TRACIE MORALES
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Published: Thursday, August 14, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, August 14, 2008 at 5:33 p.m.
On a cool Wednesday morning, about 50 men crowd Fulton Road at River Road just northwest of Santa Rosa, watching and waiting for offers to work construction, landscaping, roofing -- anything to bring a few dollars' pay.


Job offers have declined by more than 60 percent at day labor sites, keeping would-be workers waiting along the roadways at hiring halls in Fulton, Healdsburg and Graton, said Sonoma County labor organizers. Many go weeks without work and income, they said.

The unemployment of day laborers is another reflection of the economic slowdown in Sonoma County. Temporary jobs remain undone by those who once sought quick help, and traditional employers of day laborers in landscaping and construction aren't hiring because there are fewer jobs to complete.

Nathan Acuña, director of the Healdsburg Day Labor Center, said a year ago most of his laborers would get picked up for odd jobs, but now only two out of 50 will get work on any given day.

He said the hiring slowdown started when gas hit $3.50 a gallon, and the extra work that day laborers perform, such as building fences, decks or patios, suddenly ceased.

This is proof, he said, that even ranch or winery owners, who previously had money to hire casual workers, have felt the economic crunch.

"I presume the reason they're not coming over is to protect the little resources they have," he said. "So they cut out all the extra stuff."

Laborer Ismael Lopez said the scariest thing about not having work now is that summer is usually the busiest time for temporary laborers. When winter rolls around, job opportunities evaporate.

"I'm thinking of returning to Honduras," Lopez said in Spanish. "I am depressed and can't sleep because it has been five months since I last sent my family a penny." He said he earns about $300 a month, just enough to pay $250 in rent and pay for food.

If he fails to make August rent, he said, he will look for a place to sleep on the streets.

Organizers said they are seeing workers go days without food and become homeless, with some taking shelter under bridges.

Many laborers at the Fulton hiring site said they are weighing returning to Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras.

But first they must earn enough to buy a plane ticket.

Many of the day laborers are illegal immigrants, fueling the debate about whether they'll leave the country if they can't find jobs.

Labor organizers said the workers are essential to sustaining industries such as wine, agriculture, fast food and hotel services such as housekeeping.

"Even though the economy is the way it is, the workers are the ones who do the work that provide food on our tables," said Leticia Romero, community organizer for the Fulton hiring site. "What would happen if nobody did those types of jobs?"

Pablo Villalobos said before arriving in the United States, his family in Mexico had begun to sink into poverty and could not afford essentials such as food and clothes.

"To stay in Mexico meant drowning in poverty and misery," he said in Spanish.

Daniel Mendoza of Vera-cruz, Mexico, said he is learning to be patient after months of unsteady work that has made it impossible to send remittances to his wife and children, let alone pay $200 in rent on a home he shares with 10 other immigrants.

"In Mexico, I was told that the United States was full of opportunities," he said. "I came here with that illusion."

Money wired home by Mexicans living outside the country, most of them working in the United States, totaled $11.6 billion through the first six months of the year, according to figures released last week by the Bank of Mexico.

That's down 2.2 percent from the same period last year -- the longest sustained drop since Bank of Mexico began tracking the flow in the mid-1990s.

The decline reflects tougher border enforcement and the drop in the U.S. construction industry, which employs one in five Mexican immigrants.

The situation isn't easy, said Davin Cardenas, community organizer of the Graton Day Labor Center.

"At the labor center, what we can do is make sure everybody is working a little bit constantly so the jobs are distributed equally."

At Graton, the workers have set up an emergency fund to prevent anyone from falling behind in rent payments, Cardenas said.

But for many unaffiliated with labor centers or frustrated by the economic situation in their towns, the answer has been to migrate from city to city and state to state.

Laborer Mariano Castellanos said men from Los Angeles, Nevada, New York and Virginia are entering Sonoma County looking for work and hoping the outlook is less bleak in Wine Country.

Acuña said more workers are waiting in public spaces such as parks, plazas and street corners hoping to increase their chances of getting work.

"They have to beg, jump and pray for a job without any dignity," Acuña said. "They know that if they go to the park, somebody will offer them a $5- or $6-an-hour job. It's not a lot, but that's better than nothing."

You can reach Staff Writer Tracie Morales at 521-5274 or tracie.morales@pressdemocrat.


http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20 ... _drying_up

Good news....hopefully they will all leave our country!

Originally Posted by ELE

Good news....hopefully hey will all leave our country!

Sonoma County is a sanctuary county above San Francisco. They are seeing more and more violence. People are refusing to go to the annual fair. A woman murdered in Santa Rosa by a criminal illegal alien smuggled back into the country three times by his parents.

It's a mess

Just wanted to post the reply I received from Home Depot after I blasted the LA city council for their short-sightedness in demanding HD and Lowe's in building comfy day labor centers at all of their new stores because they were the ones attracting these day laborers because of the products they sell:

Dear K,

Thank you for contacting The Home Depot Customer Care.

Thank you for contacting The Home Depot and sharing your thoughts
regarding day laborers. We sincerely appreciate hearing from all of our
customers.

The Home Depot supports legal immigration to the United States and does
not support illegal immigration. The existence of day laborers is a
complex social issue beyond The Home Depot?s control. To provide our
customers with a safe and convenient shopping experience, we prohibit
solicitation on our store property by any group or individual.

To address these and other concerns related to day laborers on our
property, Home Depot diligently works with civic groups, local
governments, government agencies, law enforcement and other businesses
to determine tangible solutions to this social issue. Home Depot's
principal concern on this issue is safety for all persons.

Some local governments believe that The Home Depot can address this
issue alone and are mandating various accommodations for day laborers.
This approach is not sustainable. Only when local governments, community
groups, non-profits, law enforcement and businesses work together in
partnership can solutions be found.

Thank you again for sharing your thoughts.

We look forward to your continued patronage and assisting you with all
of your home improvement needs.

Sincerely,

Sanket
Customer Care

Vortex I hope this means that they will pull their stores from L.A. city. IF they do the outcry from the citizenry may just get that repealed. I know up here the city is very strict and does not even allow the hot dog stand in front of the store in our area. Other areas allow HD to do that. Not here.

"Even though the economy is the way it is, the workers are the ones who do the work that provide food on our tables," said Leticia Romero, community organizer for the Fulton hiring site. "What would happen if nobody did those types of jobs?"

As a teenager I worked in the kitchen of a restaurant...washing bar glasses.....graduated to washing dishes ....graduated to dishing out desserts...busboy anyone??????

Our AMERICAN teenagers are more than capable of doing this

Originally Posted by grandmasmad

"Even though the economy is the way it is, the workers are the ones who do the work that provide food on our tables," said Leticia Romero, community organizer for the Fulton hiring site. "What would happen if nobody did those types of jobs?"

As a teenager I worked in the kitchen of a restaurant...washing bar glasses.....graduated to washing dishes ....graduated to dishing out desserts...busboy anyone??????

Our AMERICAN teenagers are more than capable of doing this

And for the most part been taught hygiene.

If ICE doesn't find these Day Labor Centers, haul all their butts out here and throw all their "community organizer" butts in jail for aiding and abetting, I think I'll blow a fuse.

Daniel Mendoza of Vera-cruz, Mexico, said he is learning to be patient after months of unsteady work that has made it impossible to send remittances to his wife and children, let alone pay $200 in rent on a home he shares with 10 other immigrants.

Please go back to the cesspool you came from and take the other nine with you!

I'm sure glad I'm not living in that neighborhood. Can you imagine working all your life to buy a home, improve it, and then a landlord allows that to go next to you.