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Monday, June 16, 2008
News Lights, Cameras, Workers! : VOZ Day Laborer Site Opens on MLK
Posted by on Mon, Jun 16 at 11:28 AM
As the sun rose this morning, the first workers started showing up at the chain link fence surrounding a parking lot on E Burnside and Davis – today is the grand opening of the VOZ day labor site. The parking lot outfitted with a trailer office, Honeybuckets and benches hopes to be a safe and humane place for day laborers to meet up with employers.
The planning process for the site took months: all year long the mayor’s office discussed and eventually granted Voz $200,000 to start the site. Since then, Voz community organizers have held a series of street corner meetings in which day laborers voted on rules for the site. Voz organizer Justin Shear (below) says the workers decided just last week that bosses hiring at the site would have to pay at least $10/hour for unskilled jobs.
The site took so long to open in part because of vocal opposition to the project. While some groups condemned the City for perceived support of illegal immigration, neighboring business owners were some of the biggest critics. One store owner complained that day laborers were responsible for “human feces and syringes” found along MLK.
This morning: no feces or syringes in sight, but also no employers. Only two laborers were hired this morning. “It’s kind of a spectacle right now because of the news,” explained Shear. “This morning, even before we arrived at 5:30, there were four or five news vans out here with big cameras. A lot of the people that hire on the street might not want to hire in front of five news channels.”
Javier (below) is one of the guys looking for work. 13 years ago, he left his job as a medical examiner and came to the U.S. Now, the $80 a day he can earn on a construction site helps support his son’s education at home in central Mexico. The most important thing about having a day labor site, he believes, is building a strong image of immigrant workers as respectable humans and neighbors. “We are public people here. It’s important that the city believes that we are people, not just workers,” he told me, “The majority of people in the Northwest don’t speak Spanish and the immigrants don’t speak English. We are neighbors, but we can’t talk.”
More than the bathrooms and shade the site provides, Javier appreciates the organization compared to the street, where workers scramble quickly and chaotically into boss’s stopped trucks. “We won’t give a bad impression here.”
posted by Sarah Mirk
Comments
Immigrant workers. You forgot to mention Illegal.
They are here illegally. And before anyone tries to play the 'racist' card try working illegally in any other nation on earth.
Interesting report! Props to the city of Portland for trying to come up with a positive approach to this situation rather than avoiding the issue.
I think it was the Central Eastside businesses that demanded something be done. There were so many guys loitering around down there waiting for work, people were afraid to park their cars and patronize the businesses. The city reacted to their pressure.
LegalCitizen - give it a shot! You might stand out as one of few white guys, but think of the glamour! I commend you for signing up for the physically taxing, backbreaking manual labor. What will you ever do with the $80 you pick up after 12 hours on a job?!
D - WTF? Are you implying it's easy to work without legal status in the US? Have you ever talked to somebody who has done it? You should. Maybe you won't throw around such ill-informed, xenophobic and *gasp* racist comments afterwards.
No, I'm saying it's not easy to work outside the US.
Please point out which part of my post was unfactual or ill informed.
Nora, I hope your not implying that white people cant do physical labor. I know our current economic situation drives us to use illegal workers, but shouldn't we at least try and strive for a society that doesn't rely on "second class citizens"... i.e. people that don't receive all the benefits of living as a full citizen. It seems like as a country we are just taking the easy way out... and it seems short sighted.
*If we want to help other countries with their economic problems thats a different discussion.
Here we go again. Another city spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on day labor.
Has Portland not heard of http://www.POSTaNEED.com ? The online community for day labor and temp work, for everyone, that cost $0.
yeah, those day laborers could just bring their laptops along when they get a latte every morning.
Stinky Cheese, How much does a laptop used cost, how much does a used computer cost ? $200
How much does this 1 day labor site really cost ? $200,000 +
www.POSTaNEED.com = $0
Day Labor site = $200,000 +
I use the site all the time, because I have odd jobs that I need done and there for I need someone to do them. I much rather post it on the site then go to a chaotic day labor site that is costing tax payer $200,000.
Stinky Cheese, How much does a laptop used cost, how much does a used computer cost ? $200
How much does this 1 day labor site really cost ? $200,000 +
Day Labor site = $200,000 +
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I might just head down there and pick up a little extra work. Do you think an American gringo will stand out?