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March 7, 2007
220 drivers busted in day laborer program
By Chris Markham
Tribune


Chandler police cited 220 drivers in 2006 for stopping along Arizona Avenue as part of a special enforcement program aimed at pushing day laborers to use a private day labor center. But the majority of the day labor trade, which currently sees 80 to 100 would-be workers lining the downtown avenue each day, is conducted on private property - out of reach of the morning parking restrictions enacted a year ago, city officials said at a news conference Tuesday.

Employers and day laborers are not breaking any laws by conducting business on private property, unless the land owner has posted no-trespassing signs and is willing to help police prosecute the case, Chandler police Chief Sherry Kiyler said.

Kiyler said she was not aware of any downtown businesses that have posted such signs.

The city prohibited parking or stopping along most of Arizona Avenue between Chandler Boulevard and Pecos Road in February 2006, and assigned "extra-duty" police officers to enforce the ban between 4 a.m. and 9 a.m. The assignments are considered off-duty jobs earning overtime pay.

City court officials do not know how much violators on Arizona Avenue have been paying for fines since they don't track tickets by location, city court administrator Carla Boatner said.

But city code puts the fines somewhere between $30 and $477, officials said.

"There's an increase in laborers in general right now," said Leah Powell, the city's diversity administrator.

The increase is due to a seasonal influx of migrant workers who typically leave the area for the holidays and return in February, she said.

Slightly more workers are using the privately funded Light and Life Day Labor Center just off the avenue. The center has recently been averaging 35 to 40 workers a day, Powell said.

The center was reporting about 25 workers per day a year ago. Copyright © 2007 Freedom Communications / Arizona. Displayed by permission. All rights reserved.
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