Thread: DAY LABOR HEADACHE

http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/monte ... 124648.htm

Posted on Wed, Jul. 26, 2006



DAY LABOR HEADACHE
After laborers moved once, businesses complain again
By SUKHJIT PUREWAL
Herald Staff Writer

When Seaside's day laborers moved their gathering point from the highly visible 7-Eleven parking lot on Fremont Boulevard to behind the store along Echo Avenue, it appeared a dispute with neighboring businesses had been defused.

But the sighs of relief may have been short-lived. Frustration is mounting again as new complaints about the men have landed on the city's doorsteps.

This time the outcry is from the business owners along Echo Avenue, including Michael Kokkinos and Victor Gimenez, owners of Mediterraneo Imports.

They closed their shop in Sand City last month and had planned to reopen it along Echo Avenue, where they own property currently occupied by another business.

"Right now we are thinking twice about it," Kokkinos said Tuesday. He said it wouldn't make much sense to invest money in the venture only to have day laborers stifle business.

The men used to converge in the 7-Eleven lot, but after continual complaints from business owners and customers, University Plaza told the men they would have to move to the rear of the plaza or be cited for trespassing. Police Chief Tony Sollecito said since the move nearly three months ago, calls for police service have decreased.

From where Gimenez and Kokkinos stand, the situation only got worse.

"They moved them 20 feet from our store," Gimenez said.

The most galling part, he said, is that the city is refusing to take any action.

"It's almost like telling us we are on our own," he said.

Kokkinos and Gimenez brought their grievances to the City Council last week and were disheartened to hear Mayor Ralph Rubio say there was nothing the city could do that hasn't been tried elsewhere without much long-term success.

Rubio said Tuesday said he wasn't clear as to how Mediterraneo Imports would be affected by the laborers because it is located down the street and across from where the day laborers now congregate.

And while the current situation may not be a perfect solution, Rubio said, it does seem to be a temporary solution.

Gimenez has his own suggestion. He'd like the city to move the day laborers to city-owned property such as Laguna Grande Park or the Home Depot parking lot, which is city-owned, so that it isn't detrimental to any businesses.

Neither would be feasible, Rubio replied. City leaders had proposed the idea to Home Depot before the store opened, but the idea got no traction, Rubio said, adding that there would be no advantage in moving the men from one commercial spot to another.

In other locations, residents have not taken kindly to public resources being used to prop up a center for day laborers. In Herndon, Va., residents voted out the city council that had established a center for day laborers using county funds.

Besides, Rubio said, the city just doesn't have the funds to take such a step.

"It's such a complicated issue and yet it's become part of our economic engine," said Carlos Ramos of the League of United Latin American Citizens. Ramos has facilitated conversations between the University Plaza management and the day laborers.

Rubio compared the plight of the day laborers to workers who traveled to the California during the Dust Bowl.

"It's not something new for California," Rubio said. "The only difference is the faces have changed."


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Sukhjit Purewal can be reached at 646-4494 or spurewal@montereyherald.com.

It's called loitering! It's called deportation. Problem solved.

Dixie

Dixie, you beat me to the punch. Here is a suggestion, if you are breaking immmigration laws, go back to your country of origin.

More pin heads making a simple solution complicated!