Day Laborers

Bright and early last Friday morning, Jeanette and I dropped by four day laborer corners to spread the word over the new Wage Theft Ordinance. Prepared with fliers we had previously made, summarizing wage theft and steps to take in order to make a claim with Small Business Development, we approached the workers, who first were skeptical and hesitant. But after conversationally talking with them, we were able to build some trust and confidence. By the end of the visit at the first Home Depot location, the workers were bunched together, interested in what we had to say and asking us further questions about making a complaint.

At the other corners, we had similar reactions and eventually ran out of our fliers (but not water!). It was very interesting to see what kind of information the workers reacted most to. For next time, we'll have to mend the flier to make it more applicable.

During one stop, we surprisingly ran into a worker who had already turned in a complaint form! Accompanying him were two friends/workers who told us that they were doing the same the following week. How great to see the ordinance already in use and how bizarre that we ran into one of its users!

Over all, I'm glad we got to spread some word about the ordinance to day laborers. And I feel that I definitely gained a better understanding of the average day of a day laborer, even if just a small amount.