Thread: Debate over day labor center exposes county's cultural divid

Debate over day labor center exposes county's cultural divide
Kurtis Alexander - Sentinel Staff Writer
Article Launched: 07/11/2008 01:32:33 AM PDT


Dan Coyro/Sentinel Day laborers wait for work in front of Home Depot on 41st...«1»A group trying to build the county's first-ever day laborer center has withdrawn its request for county funding amid controversy over the project, a move observers say underscores the difficulty and complexity of addressing a cultural rift within the community.

County supervisors this spring attached a number of conditions to $10,000 of seed money for the proposed center, something those seeking a place for day laborers and prospective employers to safely gather thought was too much to ask.

Proponents of the center, who have not selected a site, said last month they'd turn elsewhere for funding, acknowledging the decision would slow their efforts.

"I think they underestimated the opposition that would arise," said Doug Keegan, program director for the Santa Cruz County Immigration Project, who closely watches social issues in the community.

Keegan said arguments against the proposed day laborer center -- like that it would bring more traffic or hurt nearby businesses -- are thinly-veiled concerns about cultural differences.

"The fact is that most people seeking day labor jobs both in Santa Cruz and Mid-County are Latino, and mostly young men that need work ... and people are not comfortable with this," he said.

He said the unease is heightened by the disparity that exists when low-income day laborers are hired to work in "well-to-do" parts of the county.

"It really puts groups of people together who may not otherwise have a lot of interaction with each other," Keegan said.

Between 200 and 400 day laborers in Santa Cruz County are estimated to be looking for work on any given day. The would-be workers are usually concentrated in a handful of areas like River Street in Santa Cruz and 41st Avenue near Soquel Drive.

A community-driven Day Labor Task Force says a centralized center would offer a safer and more orderly alternative to the spontaneous meetings now taking place between prospective workers and employers on street corners and parking lots.

A couple hundred such centers exist nationwide.

"Our hope is that we can do enough community outreach so we can explain how this would be a benefit to the larger community," said David Foster, chair of the Day Laborer Task Force.

Cultural anxieties or not, Foster said day laborers are part of the area's social fabric and are vital to the local economy.

The year-old effort to build a center hit a snag in April when the county refused to give $10,000 of redevelopment funds for project planning, at least without terms.

Supervisor Jan Beautz, who represents the Mid-County area where there's talk of putting the center, said there was too little analysis and community input on the project. The task force, in a subsequent vote by the board, was directed to develop a report if it wanted the money, addressing such issues as how the center's site would be selected and who would decide.

"The things we were asking for are normal things you would do before you try to go forward with something like this," Beautz said.

Her efforts were applauded by dozens of Mid-County residents who attended the April meeting and felt their opposition to a day laborer center in their neighborhood had gone unheard.

Months later, the task force would decide that complying with the county's terms would be more of a hassle than the money was worth. However, the task force knows that ultimately it needs to mollify county supervisors, and in turn their constituents, if the center is to be located in an unincorporated part of the county.

The cities of Santa Cruz, Watsonville and Capitola have already committed money to the day laborer center, and the task force reports that it's close to raising the balance of the $50,000 it needs to hire a consultant to begin planning. No completion date has been set.

Supervisor Neal Coonerty, who supports a day laborer center, says many legitimate concerns have been voiced about the project, but unfounded ones have surfaced, too.

"There are individuals who think the cultural or racial thing is a problem," Coonerty acknowledged.

Still, he doesn't expect these concerns to derail the task force's effort.

Nor does Foster.

"Day laborers are not going to go away, and they offer something great to the community," Foster said. "If we can get that across and gain support, [the project] should move forward."

Contact Kurtis Alexander at 706-3267 or kalexander@santacruzsentinel.com.
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_9848697

"There are individuals who think the cultural or racial thing is a problem," Coonerty acknowledged.

Gimme a break! It's not a cultural or race thing, it's a LEGAL thing!

LEGAL residents use the unemployment office, illegal aliens would use a day labor site.

Day labor centers violate federal laws, so why the hell are they allowed to exist???

How do day labors who make over $600.00 per year pay taxes? Do they claim any of these earnings towards social services? Who carries Workman Comp in case they are hurt?