Thread: DL's Offer To Pay For Laguna Beach DLS

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http://www.ocregister.com/articles/day- ... nter-beach

Thursday, April 10, 2008
Day laborers offer to pay to keep hiring center open
Economic downturn has dried up funding for Laguna Beach site.
By AMY TAXIN
The Orange County Register
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LAGUNA BEACH – Day laborers have proposed paying a daily fee to help keep the Laguna Beach hiring center open during an economic downturn that has dried up funding for the site.
Workers drafted the plan after they were told that the nonprofit agency running the center on Laguna Canyon Road would need to shut it down Monday because of a lack of cash.
The nonprofit South County Cross-Cultural Council relies on fees collected from day laborers who get work and contractors who use the site for nearly half of its budget. Both funding sources have dwindled in the housing slump, said David Peck, who chairs the nonprofit.
In response, day laborers proposed to each pay $2 to use the site – regardless of whether they find work. Currently, workers who don't get jobs get a $1 fee refunded at the end of the day.
"We have to look for a safe place," said Salvador Vargas, a day laborer who uses the Laguna Beach site. "We come here seeking work, and this is a very good place."
The council will formally consider workers' proposal at its board meeting next week, Peck said. For now, the center will remain open.
Contact the writer: 714-796-7722 or ataxin@ocregister.com
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ocnewsjunky wrote:
This is just ANOTHER illegal move on the part of this day labor site. When are the people of the state of California and the taxpayers of Laguna Beach going to say ENOUGH?

Ten years ago the City of Laguna Beach squatted on this State owned piece of land and set up a day labor site, that knowingly aids illegal aliens. When the State of CA was made aware that they owned the land they evicted the day labor site, but then made a deal to rent the land to them for $420 per month. Now they want to sell the land for the appraised value of $1.2 Million, but the city of Laguna Beach refuses to give up their day labor site.

Now the workers say they will pay a MANDATORY FEE to continue funding it? A mandatory fee will make them a business and they would have to abide by all the laws any other business has to in this state. That means TAXES, LICENSES, PERMITS, and checking I-9 FORMS!

This is public land! Why are we allowing illegal aliens (allegedly illegal) to set up an illegal business on it?

And what about the safety liability? Who pays if one of these workers gets hit by a car or falls off a ladder at an employer's home? I can answer that. WE WILL! The taxpayers of Laguna Beach and the State of CA will pay and pay and pay.

ENOUGH!

To learn all the details of the lawsuit against the city of Laguna Beach go to www.betsyrosspatriots.com and click on the DOCUMENTS section. Read the Statement of Facts.
4/10/2008 12:40:25 PM
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mojojonji wrote:
If they are paying fees, then they should also pay an income tax at the same time.
4/10/2008 12:17:35 PM
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Updated: Apr 10, 2008 - 10:48:18 PDT

http://coastlinepilot.com/articles/2008 ... 041108.txt
BREAKING NEWS
Labor site to stay open
Day workers agree to double their payment to keep Laguna Canyon Road center in operation.
By Cindy Frazier
Reader Feedback - Currently No comments posted. Comments
Laguna Beach’s Day Labor Site will not close on Monday as expected.

In a last-minute reprieve, day workers at the Laguna Beach Day Labor Site have agreed to pay more for the labor service in order to keep the center’s doors open, said David Peck, of the Cross Cultural Council, which oversees the center.

The workers will pay a nonrefundable $2 fee for the privilege of signing up for prospective day jobs. The previous fee was $1, which was refundable if the worker got a job, Peck said.

“We were short of cash because jobs are down and less money is coming in to the center,â€

[quote]The news came as a shock,â€

Good Spot for ICE to open a sub station

It looks as though the Laguna Beach DLS is finally coming to an end. I feel confident that by next week we will hear of this site shutting down for good.

It's been 3 years since the first protest there. There has been a lawsuit and many battles. It's not often we get a success in this movement. I hope everyone here gives this particular project a lot of attention for the next week until it shut down for good.

Please add comments to the news stories. The two above and this new one here. Call your State Senator and Assemblyman (If you are in CA) and call Caltrans and tell them we no longer wish our tax dollars to be spent on this DLS.

By next week we will all celebrate!

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/day- ... a-laborers


Thursday, April 10, 2008
Day laborers will pay to keep hiring center open
In Laguna Beach, workers will pitch in to sustain a day labor center after the housing slump sapped its revenue stream.
By AMY TAXIN
The Orange County Register
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LAGUNA BEACH Day laborers will start paying a daily fee to help keep the Laguna Beach hiring center open during an economic downturn organizers say has dried up funding for the site.
Workers came up with the plan after the non-profit South County Cross-Cultural Council threatened to close the center on Monday because the site relies largely on fees paid by day laborers who get work and contractors – two revenue streams hurt by the housing crisis, said David Peck, chair of the group.
That led day laborers who use the site on Laguna Canyon Road to propose that workers pay a $2 fee to use the site – regardless of whether they find work. Until now, workers had their $1 payments to the site refunded on days they couldn't find a job.
"We have to look for a safe place," said Salvador Vargas, a day laborer from Laguna Hills who supports the new plan. "We come here seeking work, and this is a very good place."
The scene is playing itself out at day labor sites around the country as workers see job offers dwindle. And it has affected hiring sites that rely on donations or fees paid by employers or workers, many who may not be able to get jobs due to the slump in home construction jobs, said Pablo Alvarado, executive director of the National Day Labor Organizing Network.
"The majority of employers of day laborers are homeowners. And in times of recession, employers don't want to use their disposable income," Alvarado said. "I would say from last year we saw a deterioration in terms of the number of jobs coming to the corners and the centers."
Alvarado said the weak economic outlook will likely dissuade some would-be migrants from trying to cross the border – as well as beefed up enforcement in the United States. About three-quarters of day laborers at hiring sites are illegal immigrants, according to a 2005 study by UCLA.
But a rough economic patch could mean more – not fewer – day laborers at hiring centers as construction workers who held steady jobs are forced to find other sources of income, he said.
Orange County saw a 4.1 percent decline in construction industry jobs in the year through February, according to state figures. In the year ended in the third quarter of 2007, the county lost 19,100 jobs, more than any of the nation's 328 largest counties, according to federal job statistics.
In Laguna Beach, the hiring center reeled in $20,278 from refundable worker fees and $5 donations paid by contractors in the year from July 2006 to June 2007 - – about half of its total income, according to tax records. The other half came from the city of Laguna Beach.
But the fees and donations, which cover the costs of hiring a site manager, insurance and putting a phone at the center, have taken a hit this year – partly because laborers aren't getting as much work and because homeowners aren't doing as much construction, Peck said.
Peck said the economy has been the biggest obstacle, but concerns raised by anti-illegal immigration activists, who filed a lawsuit over the site and have rallied against it, may also play a role. While about half of the workers could count on getting jobs, now only a quarter can.
"We need to make this permanent (the fee) to build up a reserve for hard times like this," Peck said, adding that the city gave the center an additional $7,000 this year in addition to an initial $20,000. "In the future, if we have to go through this, we have something we can draw on."
Eileen Garcia, a Laguna Beach resident who filed the lawsuit and has appealed a losing ruling in state court, questioned the workers' plan. "I would really question whether they can require a fee," Garcia said. "And by requiring a fee and they're setting it up to run as a business."
Peck said the non-profit's board will formally consider workers' proposal at its meeting next week, adding that the center will remain open for now.
Alvarado said the most financially successful labor centers are those that employ a mix of revenue sources including grants, donations, and other options -- like setting up a mini-store to sell chips and drinks to workers and passers-by. "You have to be creative about it," he said.
Contact the writer: 714-796-7722 or ataxin@ocregister.com