
{"id":19809,"date":"2011-07-21T09:32:11","date_gmt":"2011-07-21T13:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/?p=19809"},"modified":"2011-07-21T09:32:11","modified_gmt":"2011-07-21T13:32:11","slug":"stakeholders-look-toward-day-laborer-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/2011\/07\/21\/stakeholders-look-toward-day-laborer-center\/","title":{"rendered":"Stakeholders look toward day-laborer center"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By Susan Dickson<br \/>\n<em>Staff Writer<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nAs one group of residents fights Carrboro\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s anti-lingering ordinance, another is looking toward a solution that could resolve the issues surrounding the law \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a day-laborer center.<br \/>\nThough discussions are in the very early stages, local Latino leaders, law enforcement, elected officials, day laborers and other stakeholders are talking about just how this community might find a solution that could improve the situation for everyone.<br \/>\nIn December, Orange County Justice United asked the mayors of Carrboro and Chapel Hill and others to convene a task force to examine and address the issues surrounding day laborers, and last month 30 to 40 residents and leaders came together to talk about those issues.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s really important that we have a sanctioned place for workers so that they can be distinguished from folks who are not necessarily looking for work,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Carrboro Board of Aldermen member Randee Haven-O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Donnell said.<br \/>\nDay laborers, many of them Latino, often gather at the intersection of Davie and Jones Ferry roads in hopes that contractors will come by and offer them work. In November 2007, the board of aldermen approved an anti-lingering ordinance for the intersection after residents of the surrounding neighborhood complained of public alcohol consumption, public urination and littering in the areas around the intersection. The ordinance prohibits lingering at the intersection between 11 a.m. and 5 a.m.<br \/>\nThe board recently heard claims that the ordinance is unconstitutional and voted to take another look at it when it reconvenes in September.<br \/>\nMauricio Castro, a member of Justice United\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s immigrant-family action team and a leader in the Latino community, said he felt it was more important to focus on a solution for day laborers than on the ordinance.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see the ordinance at this point as a priority for the work that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re doing because we believe that the ordinance will fix itself if we have a suitable place where the workers can gather and find work,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said.<br \/>\nHaven-O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Donnell said she felt it was important to separate the issues of a possible center and the ordinance.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153If the focus is on the ordinance, then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fueling the negative energy of the neighbors and the community and capturing the workers when [the two issues] need not be connected,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153There is a way to do this. There is a way to decouple it and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s by getting the workers a dignified not only work station but eventually a work center,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d which could provide services in addition to a gathering space.<br \/>\nCastro said he and others on the team are doing research on day-laborer centers and the experiences of other communities to determine how best to approach such a center. Castro said the center could be an organized setting that could provide protection for both workers and those who hire them. At the June stakeholder meeting, representatives from the National Day Laborer Organizing Network presented best-practices strategies and other information to those in attendance.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We want people to really understand this,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Castro said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s very easy these days, with the anti-immigrant rhetoric that we have, that people can take this out of context.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<br \/>\nHaven-O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Donnell said that one of the most important points that she took from the discussions was the need for the workers to be on board with whatever direction a possible solution takes.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153You can set up certain things, but if they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re wary of being involved and they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not involved, they can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help move it forward,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153My key interest is making sure that their status is elevated as workers.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<br \/>\nEl Centro Hispano, which hosted the June meeting, has been suggested as a possible location for a day-laborer center, but Castro said he wants to think outside of the box and explore all options in the community before making a decision.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We want to do it right,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Castro said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Part of my job and responsibility is to make sure that, at the end, there is a resolution one way or the other.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153At some point, we are going to have to make the call about whether we have a center or whether we have a corner that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s better organized,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said.<br \/>\nFor now, the team will continue to conduct research and educate the public, Castro said, adding that he hopes to have a more specific plan \u00e2\u20ac\u201c that won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t involve fighting the ordinance \u00e2\u20ac\u201c within the next six months.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As one group of residents fights Carrboro\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s anti-lingering ordinance, another is looking toward a solution that could resolve the issues surrounding the law \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a day-laborer center. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19809"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19810,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19809\/revisions\/19810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}