Doin' Work

My work with the day labor center at Southside Church has provided me with greater knowledge of the working conditions for many immigrants coming into the U.S. I should mention that although some of the participants in the in the day labor program have immigrated into the U.S., others have lived in the U.S. for most or all of their lives.

Specifically, I have been learning about the problems these workers face. On many days, the participants are unable to find work. It seems like only one out of every four or five people there find work through the center each day. Even when they do find work, many of the patrones do not pay them well or sometimes do not pay them at all. Due to the informal nature of the jobs, the workers are virtually powerless in these types of situations.

These problems are especially disheartening because many of these workers are here to earn money for their families that still live in their country of origin. These men left everything behind to support their families and because of the recession and abusive patrones, they make very little money.

I realize that some people may question whether day labor centers should exist that help undocumented laborers, in addition to documented laborers, to find work. Won’t this just encourage more undocumented immigrants? While some people may not find this particularly objectionable I claim that even for those that do not want fewer undocumented immigrants should still favor the creation of more day labor centers like the one at Southside. That is, I think that such centers should be promoted by people on both sides of the issue. This is an important distinction to make since I recognize that many people object to undocumented immigrants, but they realize that people will come regardless and humane measures should be taken.

My reasoning is that such day labor centers will do little to encourage further migration and will also increase safety for both the undocumented workers and the communities in which they live. The centers also require little resources to run and foster a sense of community among the laborers.

Day labor centers do not lead to significant increases in the number of immigrants coming into the U.S. People will immigrate into the U.S. as long as there are jobs that pay better than in the countries where they live. Most of the immigrants I have spoken to said that they have come to the U.S. for higher wages; these people are very desperate and are immigrating as a last resort because they cannot make sufficient money in their home countries. And jobs in the U.S. will pay better regardless of whether there are day labor centers. So immigrants will be entering the U.S. in roughly the same numbers either way.

I find this notion similar to the argument that more immigrants will cross because people put out water in the desert. The immigrants are going to cross either way, the water just serves to ensure their safety when crossing. Likewise, the day labor centers work to improve worker safety without actually causing more people to immigrate.

Day labor centers offer protection for the workers involved. Having some sort of organization allows them to share information on which patrones require workers to face dangerous conditions or pay unfair wages. Otherwise these abusive patrones would be able to get away with these kinds of practices and continuously hire new workers since stories of their practices would not circulate.

The centers also benefit the workers in other ways. At Southside and other labor centers there is a sense of community among the workers. They have group meetings and they are planning on having a party together. They are not competing directly for jobs because the order of who gets work first is determined by a raffle. If they were just out on the streets then they would be in direct competition with the other workers and there would be no sense of solidarity.

Day labor centers also offer safety to the surrounding community. Since the workers are not allowed to show up under the influence or in possession of drugs or alcohol, they are discouraged from using these substances. When workers are disorganized and on the street looking for work most of the time, drugs and alcohol are a major temptation. Less use of these substances will translate into a safer community. Further, these workers realize that bad behavior will jeopardize their chances their chances of finding work. For instance, Southside imposes punishments that suspend the workers from participation in the program for a time in proportion to the offense. So the workers are especially concerned about maintaining good behavior to ensure continued participation in the program. Being on the streets in a disorganized manner also promotes violence and threatening behavior.

Lastly, these day labor centers require very little resources to run. At Southside, the workers mostly run the program themselves. Volunteers support their efforts, but they mostly take a backseat to the process of finding work; in my capacity as a volunteer I am providing services like computer and English classes. The main thing that is necessary for a day labor center is a site to host their operation. Southside would have the parking lot regardless of whether they had the day labor center. The only costs incurred by the church are providing basic supplies and the use of a small fraction of church officials’ time. So altogether, the operation is very inexpensive.

Together these points lead to the conclusion that day labor centers such as Southside provide an important service regardless of how you feel about undocumented immigration. Elimination of such centers would only make life worse for undocumented immigrants and communities as a whole.