On 7/15/06, Michael Hoover <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
July 14, 2006
On Dusty Corner, Laborers Band Together for More Pay
By STEVEN GREENHOUSE
AGOURA HILLS, Calif., July 12 — The black Lexus stopped just yards
from a large, shady oak tree, and eight copper-skinned Guatemalan men
rushed over.
For a minute, the woman in the car and the men haggled feverishly
before the Lexus drove off — without any day laborers to help with her
gardening.
The woman had offered to pay $10 an hour, not realizing what she had
stumbled into: the only day labor site in the nation that has set a
$15-an-hour minimum wage.
At a few dozen other sites across the country, day laborers have set
minimums, usually $8 or $10. But only at this corner in Agoura Hills,
a well-to-do town 40 miles northwest of Los Angeles, experts say, have
they been bold enough to insist on $15, nearly three times the federal
minimum wage. Some laborers who are particularly skilled at plumbing
or hanging drywall get $18 or more.
"There are always employers who look for cheap workers," said Virgilio
Vicente, 47, a Guatemala immigrant who spent the week framing walls
for a small contractor. "But we have an agreement, and no one is going
to go for less. We don't feel bad when someone drives away because we
know other clients will always come."
Their move is a risky experiment, reminiscent of crude unionization
efforts of a century ago. It is uncertain if laborers at other sites
will join the move to a $15 minimum or even whether the workers at
this corner, the intersection of Kanan and Agoura Roads, can make it
stick. When they raised their rates last month, the demand for their
services went down as some homeowners and contractors began seeking
workers at another corner five miles away.
Luis Cap, 32, a stocky Guatemalan immigrant who has been a mainstay of
the corner for 14 years, is not worried. "The employers complain, but
we explain that it is very expensive to live in this city," Mr. Cap
said. "We tell them: 'Gas is expensive. Rent is expensive. Insurance
is expensive. Everything is expensive.' "
<snip>
The laborers who stuck it out here have developed a strong sense of
community that is reflected in their slogan: "First, it's God. Then
it's our mother. Then it's this corner." Mr. Vicente called it "a
place that feeds us and feeds our families."
When the workers here decided last month to adopt the $15 minimum, up
from the $12.50 they set in 2003, the process resembled a New England
town meeting held in a dirt-covered Western lot.
On a Saturday morning, 100 men gathered, with several arguing that the
higher minimum would chase away employers. Others argued that laborers
who spoke only Spanish would be at a disadvantage. "Some workers who
don't speak good English were against $15," said Victor González, 20.
"It's harder for them to negotiate to get work."
Despite such arguments, the vote was 85 to 15 in favor of the $15
minimum. Marvin Martínez, a Salvadoran immigrant, said, "We sweat our
butts off, and they were only paying us $100 a day."
These men are very impressive! An excellent article!
--
Yoshie
<http://montages.blogspot.com/>
<http://mrzine.org>
<http://monthlyreview.org/>
