The Fight for One Day Laborer Center

On April 1st, 2014, the Downtown Community Job Center and the rest of the IDEPSCA and CARECEN Worker Centers, began operating without the federal economic support that had sustained it for years. The Downtown day laborers had to move out of the locale they had used until that day to wait for employment opportunities and complete educational and organizational activities.

In Downtown, the day laborers did not give up despite no longer having a safe space to congregate. They looked for a new space to wait for work all the while lacking the support of the district 14 Councilmember, Jose Huizar, and the rest of the City Council. Through ample participation in City Councilmember visits, marches, and other actions alongside other day laborers, allies and organizers, they finally persuaded the City to secure local funds for the operation of the Worker Centers including Downtown, which rented anew locale.

Still, the budget was approved with cuts and this lowers the hopes for the continued existence of the Worker Centers. Heriberto, a day laborer from Downtown said the centers “…are an opportunity for every immigrant worker to whom the government does not grant the same opportunities as its citizens.”

In the fight for the Centers, the strength is in the day laborers that never tire of demanding equal rights. The Centers will remain open if these workers have that spirit to demand justice for themselves as workers and members of the communities they contribute to daily.

If you, reader, have ever been a day laborer or have a family member that has been a day laborer, you may already know about the infinite abuses they suffer. If, however, you are not acquainted with the stories of these workers, I invite you to join their fight. They need the involvement of allies and of the rest of the community so together they can demand the support they need from the city. Join the fight and you will see that the words in this article are not enough to cover the vast realities of day laborers.