Day laborers plan community service, hoping to help image
June 17th, 2008, 1:15 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Amy Taxin
Day laborers are gearing up for a national day of community service tomorrow — planning to clean up garbage, paint trees and beautify neighborhoods in 20 cities around the country, including Los Angeles.

Orange County isn’t on the list — but workers made a similar stop in Modjeska Canyon earlier this year to help residents whose properties were damaged in last year’s wildfires.

The effort isn’t pure altruism but a pitch by day laborers to improve their image amid a barrage of local ordinances that aim to crack down on work solicitation and the political uproar over illegal immigration.

“We may not be able to change federal immigration laws, but we can improve our local communities,â€