First National Study of Day Laborers Exposes Abuse, Injuries, H.R. 4437 Would Make Matters Worse

FIRST NATIONAL STUDY OF DAY LABORERS EXPOSES ABUSE, INJURIES, H.R. 4437 WOULD MAKE MATTERS WORSE -- (Extensions of Remarks - March 02, 2006)

SPEECH OF
HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY
OF ILLINOIS
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2006

* Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, they pay taxes, raise children, attend church, and participate in community activities and institutions. Yet, when America's day laborers go to work, they have experiences that would shock any other upstanding community member: police harassment, violence at the hands of employers, withheld wages and conditions so dangerous that is not unusual for them to be sidelined for more than a month with work-related injuries or to work for weeks on end in pain. In Illinois and in other States in the Midwest, day laborers work under more dangerous conditions, are more likely to suffer labor abuse, and are also more likely to suffer police harassment compared to workers in other regions.

* This is the vivid portrait painted by the first nationwide study of America's 117,600 day laborers. The result of research by social scientists from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), and New York's New School University, "On the Corner: Day Labor in the United States," presents findings from a survey of 264 hiring sites in 143 municipalities in 20 U.S. States and the District of Columbia.

* "The goal was to document a population that, though quite visible on the corners of U.S. cities, is poorly understood by the public and by policy makers," said Nik Theodore, an assistant professor in the Urban Planning and Policy Program at UIC, and one of the study's three lead authors. "We hope to inform policy debates so that decisionmakers can devise thoughtful and effective strategies for resolving many of the problems that day laborers face."

* According to the national study's findings, worker centers give a voice and power to people who often lack both. They are gateway organizations that meet immigrant workers where they are and provide them with a wealth of information and training. In all too many cases, these centers are the only "port in the storm" for low-wage immigrant workers seeking to understand U.S. labor and immigration laws, file back wage claims, and organize against recalcitrant employers. The Latino Union of Chicago runs the only worker center for day laborers in the Midwest, located in the Albany Park neighborhood of Chicago.

* If the Border Protection, Anti-Terrorism and Illegal Immigration Act (H.R. 4437) is enacted, this comprehensive community approach would come to an end. It would destroy the very institutions in our communities that have developed real solutions. Day labor centers (and the private individuals, churches and government agencies that work with them) could face thousands or even millions of dollars in fines if they assist in the process of connecting day laborers to employers. The trust that day labor centers have built with communities would be eroded as the centers become responsible for verifying workers' immigration status. Volunteers and staff of worker centers would be turned into criminals and work center property could be seized. Good work, such as providing ESL classes and job skills training or leadership development, would be equated with alien smuggling.

* H.R. 4437 and bills with similar provisions don't just jeopardize the lives of some immigrants, they are attacks on all our communities. As a first-generation American and as a Congresswoman who is honored to represent one of the most richly diverse districts in the country, I believe Washington must act now on immigration reform that keeps the American dream alive--not roll back the good work that day labor centers do every day across the Nation.

* I urge my colleagues to look at the national study released by UIC and UCLA, which I hope is the first of many, to help us understand the problems day laborers and immigrants face in our country.

ON THE CORNER: DAY LABOR IN THE UNITED STATES
(By Abel Valenzuela, Jr., Nik Theodore, Edwin Meléndez, and Ana Luz Gonzalez) Executive Summary

This report profiles, for the first time, the national phenomenon of day labor in the United States. Men and women looking for employment in open-air markets by the side of the road, at busy intersections, in front of home improvement stores and in other public spaces are ubiquitous in cities across the nation. The circumstances that give rise to this labor market are complex and poorly understood. In this report, we analyze data from the National Day Labor Survey, the first systematic and scientific study of the day-labor sector and its workforce in the United States.

This portrait of day labor in the United States is based on a national survey of 2,660 day laborers. These workers were randomly selected at 264 hiring sites in 139 municipalities in 20 States and the District of Columbia. The sheer number of these sites, combined with their presence in every region in the country, reflects the enormous breadth of this labor market niche.

Our findings reveal that the day-labor market is rife with violations of workers' rights. Day laborers are regularly denied payment for their work, many are subjected to demonstrably hazardous job sites, and most endure insults and abuses by employers. The growth of day-labor hiring sites combined with rising levels of workers' rights violations is a national trend that warrants attention from policy makers at all levels of government.

In some cities, the rise of day labor has been accompanied by community tensions, in part because of inaccurate and unsubstantiated portrayals of these workers. The aim of this study is to provide sound empirical data on the day-labor phenomenon that can inform public discussions and provide the basis for thoughtful policy approaches to this complex issue.

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