Problems associated with day labor sites.

Many pick-up sites cause disturbances that give a negative image to day laborers. To reveal the problem I’ll give an example of the Pico and La Brea junction, which is one of many day labor pick-up locations in LA. The day laborers rush to potential employers’ cars in competition for work, slowing the traffic and endangering themselves and others. There are no public toilet facilities, so some workers urinate in public and cause a health hazard. Some of them are drinking and verbally harassing women, when they pass by. By the end of the day, the site is normally filled with empty beverage cans and food leftovers. Nearby residents and businesses occasionally complain to the police, who then bother the day laborers occasionally. In 1989 ordinances prohibiting the workers from soliciting work on the street were passed in Costa Mesa, LA county, the City of Industry, La Mirada, Malibu, Laguna Beach, Pomona, Glendale and Gardena. Ellie Varges of Woodland Hills, a member of the community police advisory board, says, "The men who are legitimately looking for a job get work early or go home. It’s the criminal element, gambling, drinking and workers spilling over into residential neighborhoods, that are the problem. What might alleviate some of the problems is to modify the law so they can solicit work in business areas but not in residential areas..". The day laborers’ fear of the authorities results in a constant change of sites, their only option as a ‘weak public’.