Thread: Working for free: Day laborers clean up East Side neighborho

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Working for free: Day laborers clean up East Side neighborhood

By Lauren Klein
Special Correspondent

April 3, 2006

STAMFORD -- About 40 day laborers fanned out on the city's East Side yesterday morning to put in a hard day's work for free.

Wearing florescent-green stickers that read, "Workers for the City that Works," they met at the day laborer pickup zone at South State and Lafayette streets to clear trash in the neighborhood.

The effort was organized by the newly formed Committee of Day Laborers and the East Side Partnership.

Laborers said they want to show business owners and residents, who have said they are concerned about loitering near the pickup zone, that they are hard workers who contribute to the community.

"This is very important to project the real image of the day laborers," said Juan Paniagua, an outreach worker hired by the East Side Partnership. "They work every day under hard conditions for love, to support their families."

By cleaning up, they want to show they also love their community, Paniagua said.

City Rep. Philip Berns, D-16, an immigration attorney and advocate for day laborers, said the project will discredit people who discriminate against day laborers. Workers have been kicked out of the Dunkin' Donuts on East Main Street after buying coffee, and sometimes are not properly paid by their employers, Berns said.

"It's my hope to make liars of the people who say the (laborers) are here to take, take, take and have no interest in helping the community," he said. "These are hard workers, excited to demonstrate that they want to be a part of the community. Some of them have not worked or eaten in days, and they are here picking up garbage in their neighborhood."

He said he hopes it will help change the tone of the dialogue about the controversial issue of day laborers, who often are Hispanic men without proper immigration documents.

Working with volunteers from the East Side Partnership, the laborers filled three large garbage bags every minute.

James Grunberger, chairman of the East Side Partnership, said the cleanup was welcome.

"These are family men looking for work," he said. "They want to be embraced by the community."

There may be as many as 250 day laborers in Stamford, Paniagua has said. According to a recent survey, they most often are hired by homeowners and earn an average of $287 a week. Their average age is 32, and 97 percent work to support relatives, sending an average of $338 a month to their home countries.

Bull.....they ought to clean up their messes!

According to a recent survey, they most often are hired by homeowners and earn an average of $287 a week

Just more business taken away from small contractors. I don't understand why anybody would take a chance on hiring somebody they know nothing about. People get killed that way. I guess $287.00 ain't bad if you can live with 15-20 other people.