Thread: Group to protest labor pickup site

Group to protest labor pickup site

By Donna Porstner
Staff Writer

April 21, 2007

STAMFORD -- Saying illegal immigrants are stealing jobs from U.S. citizens, opponents of the day laborer pickup site under Interstate 95 are planning to stage a protest today in front of Mayor Dannel Malloy's Shippan home.

About 10 people upset with Malloy for allowing a "no-hassle zone" under I-95 say they plan to stand in front of Malloy's house on Ocean Drive East for two hours as if they were day laborers waiting for work, wearing blue-collar shirts and hard hats. It's the first protest of the Southern Connecticut Citizens for Immigration Reform's "If You Can't Beat 'em Join 'em Project."

"I've got a big problem with American jobs being taken by people who aren't supposed to be here," said organizer Bill Farrel, 45, a contractor from North Branford. "I want to see an end to the mayor sanctioning illegal immigration."

Illegal aliens work for a quarter to a third less than legal workers, which makes it difficult for tradesmen who hire citizens at a higher wage to stay competitive, Farrel said.

"He's probably a great mayor, he's just (on the) wrong side on this issue, and in my esteem, this is the issue in this country," Farrel said.

Malloy said the group's efforts will be wasted because he has no control over federal immigration policy.

"I don't maintain the borders of the United States. If I did, I would do a better job than this administration does," he said. "He needs to go the White House and picket the president's house, not mine."

Malloy said he plans to be busy today running errands and will not interfere with the protest.

"I think most people would find what they are doing objectionable, but they certainly have a right to do that, so we'll let them do that," he said.

Tensions periodically flare over the day laborers - mostly men who have recently emigrated from South and Central America - particularly in the summer when landscapers and homeowners are looking for help.

City Rep. Richard Lyons II, D-1, chairman of the Board of Representatives' Public Safety and Health Committee, said he has received complaints lately about the labor pickup spot. He has called a meeting Thursday night with Police Chief Brent Larrabee at the Stamford Government Center to review enforcement.

Laborers waiting to be hired are wandering far from the designated pickup spot near the intersection of Lafayette and South State streets under I-95, crowding the highway entrance ramp at Elm Street and loitering in front of the new Dunkin' Donuts shop, he said. Contractors are stopping their trucks in the middle of the road to pick up workers, creating a safety problem, Lyons said.

"You've got cars stopping in front of the Exit 8 on-ramp; you've got cars getting swarmed by workers," he said.

Lyons said he's received complaints from his constituents in the Cove and Shippan neighborhoods, as well as from other elected officials and parents of students at Rogers Magnet School on Lockwood Avenue.

The system might work if the laborers stayed in the designated pickup spot under I-95, he said.

"If they are at Lafayette and South State, nobody would see them," Lyons said.

Perhaps the solution is to open a second designated labor spot on the West Side so the East Side is not so congested, Lyons said.

Juan David Paniagua of Stamford, a former outreach worker for the laborers, agreed the current situation is unsafe. The solution, he said, is to find a place where the workers can congregate away from traffic, such as a parking lot.

"We need to find not just a system, but a place where they can wait safely," said Paniagua, who now works for the Stamford Partnership's Latino Initiative Project, which helps new immigrants assimilate. "We agree with the city, this is not a safe place to wait for work."

Corralling 70 to 80 workers who come out each morning into the designated labor pickup spot would be even more dangerous because there will be too much competition, and passing cars would be swarmed by dozens of workers, he said.

"These people are fighting for some money to give food and housing to their families, so this is a survival issue," Paniagua said.

While opponents of illegal immigration protest outside Malloy's house, the laborers - who largely blame the contractors for the safety problems - plan to meet at the pickup spot at 12:15 p.m. to talk about solutions. They are expected to discuss asking police to crack down on contractors who park unsafely, and the prospect of hiring a starter to oversee the traffic and hiring six days a week.

Stamford Partnership President Kathleen Walsh, whose organization uses a $15,000 grant from St. John's Community Foundation to hire an outreach worker for the laborers, said it's worth considering additional staff to make the system more orderly.

"I had not previously heard of an interest in having a starter system, but if that is what emerges from this discussion, I would be happy to pursue that," she said.

The long-term goal is to build a hiring center that also offers English classes and other services for new immigrants, though the Stamford Partnership has not identified a location or funding.

"It is a model that's worked successfully in other areas," Walsh said.

The East Side Partnership, an association of residents and business owners, tried to get a trailer for day laborer pickup a few years ago, but it abandoned the effort after learning Homeland Security policies do not allow structures under highway bridges.

If the day laborer protest goes well, Farrel said his group will stage more protests in front of other elected officials' homes, including New Haven Mayor John DeStefano.

"None of these guys are worried about their jobs," Farrel said. "They're just looking at votes and maybe they think there's some sort of public sympathy there, but that's a myth."

His group plans to assemble at 11 a.m. and finish at 1 p.m. Farrel said they will leave promptly when the protest is over.

"These people who are coming here illegally, they'll never be gone," he said. "But our jobs will."
Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

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Malloy said the group's efforts will be wasted because he has no control over federal immigration policy.

Another spineless wimp who landed in politics simply because he couldn't find honest work.

Originally Posted by pjr40

Malloy said the group's efforts will be wasted because he has no control over federal immigration policy.

Another spineless wimp who landed in politics simply because he couldn't find honest work.

:P :P :P

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/lo ... -headlines

Demonstrators rally against day labor laws

By Chris Gosier
Staff Writer

April 22, 2007

STAMFORD - A citizens' group demonstrated outside Mayor Dannel Malloy's house yesterday to call attention to their concerns about illegal immigrants.

The members of Southern Connecticut Citizens for Immigration Reform criticized Malloy for supporting a "no-hassle" zone where day laborers can congregate, and said he should do more to stop the hiring of illegal immigrants in Stamford.

"He should follow up and find out who's hiring these people and have them arrested," said Ted Pechinski of North Branford, a retired electrician and leader of the immigration group.

Malloy said the city has no authority to crack down on the hiring of illegal immigrants. It's the job of the state and federal governments to enforce labor laws, and the federal government handles immigration, he said.

"If they have a problem with immigration policy as it exists in the United States, they have to make their intentions known in Washington," Malloy said.

The no-hassle zone was set up along South State Street in 2004, marked with red-and-white signs in English and Spanish, when the laborers outgrew their original pickup spot beneath Interstate 95 and caused traffic congestion.

Another group member - Bill Farrel, a roofer from North Branford - said the zone attracts illegals who take jobs that otherwise would have gone to U.S. workers. The workers, through their numbers, also depress wages for people in blue-collar professions, he said.

"They'll target this city, particularly" because of the no-hassle zone, he said. "A hassle-free zone equals de facto amnesty."

Malloy said the zone was set up because of a public safety concern - preventing traffic congestion and accidents.

About 10 demonstrators wore hardhats and blue-collared shirts and carried signs. "Stop illegal immigration now," one sign read.

The immigration group, based in North Branford, gained some Stamford members out of yesterday's demonstration, Farrel said. The group plans to hold more demonstrations in the city, he said.

"We're planning on being fairly active here" in Stamford, he said.
Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

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