Local HEROES Clean Water

Willing to Work“Less talk, more thought, even more action”– Old Chassidic saying.10 - www.westcountygazette.com - 1/15/09By Vesta CopestakesI was recently approached by an iratebusiness owner in one of our smallcommunities. Latin day laborers arehanging out on the street, milling aboutwaiting to be picked up for work. Thisgoes on from early morning to mid-dayor even into the afternoon. Downtownmerchants get people complaining thatthey feel uncomfortable walking thestreets. Business is down. People arediscouraged and wondering what to do.What’s wrong with this picture?The laborers tend to look dirty. Theirclothes are work clothes and they areprepared to get dirty all day. They areall men. Some times their behavioris less than desirable, like when theywhistle and leer at women. Some timesthey drink. Some times they come invans and even sleep in those vans on thestreet. They come in from Santa Rosa onbuses to stand on these corners and waitfor work. Fulton, Healdsburg, Graton,Guerneville all share the same problem.Three of these towns have attemptedto do something about it. Two of thetowns have succeeded on some levelsand failed on others. Healdsburg andGraton have refined, organized andsophisticated hiring halls and systemsin place that support both the laborersand the people who hire them. Fultonhas started the process but has a longway to go before they graduate pastthe hiring table in the parking lot.The centers with buildings provideservices, language lessons, healthcare and a full range of opportunities.They contribute to their respectivecommunities. In Graton laborers fromthe center regularly work to keep thetown clean, groom the walking trail,and volunteer to help local citizens.The centers welcome anyone willingto work; men, women, any nationalityand race. Educated college studentsshow up to fill in their income betweenclasses. Women come seeking workwhere they feel protected and safe.Skilled workers know they will findlabor using their knowledge andexperience. Ones who don’t speakEnglish, take lessons. It goes on. Thebenefits are many for both the laborersas well as the people who hire them.Then with all of these benefits, whydo laborers continue to mill about on thestreets, get in people’s way and offendbusinesses trying to survive?Two reasons, really.One is that people continue to hirelaborers from the street. As long as“employers” show up, why not standthere and take advantage of the nonsystemwhere the most aggressive getthe job? It works.Two is because many of these peopleare not citizens and are not documented.Getting into any system brings fear totheir hearts that they will get caughtand shipped out of the country – orworse, put in jail. They have familiesback home depending upon them.Add to the problem that getting inand out of our country has becomemore difficult. It used to be that wintercame and we’d have our street cornersback. Now if the laborers go home forthe winter, they may not make it backin spring. The risk is too great to try.Finding a SolutionUltimately, the Day Labor Centers arethe solution. The hard part is gettingpeople to use them – both the workersand the people who hire workers. Theother day I was in Fulton and literallyran into a man who regularly picksup laborers for a variety of tasks. Heextolled their virtues of hard work,strength, their willingness to do justabout anything, and their ability tohandle hot sun all day. “White peoplecan’t do that – and won’t!” For this manit was all about the ease of picking upworkers in his truck. When I suggestedhe use the labor table in Fulton, helooked surprised. I explained that it’shard for local businesses to deal withpeople milling about.WORK cont’d on page 11