Posted on 03/31/2005 4:39:01 AM PST by chambley1
A task force calling for a day laborer workforce center will present its recommendations to the public during a meeting Monday from 4 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of the A.J. Ferlazzo Building, 15941 Donald Curtis Drive, Woodbridge.
The Day Laborers' Task Force's four-page report calls for a non-profit group to run a workforce center in Woodbridge as a 1- to 3-year pilot program. A $150,000 preliminary budget for the center includes funding for two full-time employees.
The center would be a place for up to 100 temporary workers to wait for daily employment from building contractors.
The task force's recommendation says the center could be funded through a combination of private and public sources, including county funds and user fees from both laborers and employers.
The Day Laborers' Task Force was formed soon after more than 20 day laborers were arrested in October for loitering near a 7-Eleven at Jefferson Davis HIghway and Longview Drive in Woodbridge where they gathered to wait for work.
The nearly-30 member task force met seven times since December to craft their recommendation.
The Prince William Board of County Supervisors will use the task force's recommendation to make a decision on whether to open a workforce center, where to put it and how to operate and pay for it.
"I feel that we're moving in the right direction, but I think we need to hear from the community and then we can take it from there," said task force organizer Supervisor Hilda M. Barg, D-Woodbridge.
After the public meeting, the task force will either send its recommendation directly to county supervisors or hold additional meetings before passing the issue along, Barg said.
Task force member Ricardo Juarez of the Workers Committee of Woodbridge, an advocate for the day laborers, applauded the task force's report. Juarez said the recommendation for a workforce center showed that task force members were serious about addressing the influx of job-seeking immigrants to Prince William County.
"It is better for everybody to get organized and confront this new situation,#034; said Juarez.
Representatives of the day laborers, the Prince William County police department and Southland Corporation, operator of 7-Eleven convenience stores, have agreed to a temporary measures that allow workers to continue waiting for work at the Woodbridge 7-Eleven.
The temporary agreement stipulates that workers stand at the side of the store and leave by 10 a.m.
During the task force's meetings, Chairman Stu Christiano tried to keep members focused on the specific issue of day laborers at the Woodbridge 7-Eleven and refrain from delving too far into legal or social issues raised by the presence of the workers.
Nevertheless, several task force members questioned the legality of operating a workforce center that could attract illegal immigrants.
Although the task force did not ask for a legal opinion on the workforce center, task force member Mary Jo Shufelt solicited one from the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), a national organization that promotes tougher immigration controls.
In a seven-page letter to Board of County Supervisors chairman Sean T. Connaughton, R-at large and FAIR attorney Michael Hethmon argues that the county could run afoul of federal law by operating a work force center for illegal immigrants.
Assistant County attorney Rob Skoff dismissed the FAIR memo, saying it was "without merit" and that there is no legal argument to ban a workforce center.
However, Skoff added that he did not represent the task force and would review more thoroughly any proposal for a workforce center once it is forwarded to county supervisors.
The last I looked, the streetcorner across from our local Home Depot was serving this function, and it isn't costing $150,000 a year. Am I missing something?
They are conspiring with businesses to avoid taxes arrest them all.
Local and state politics information: Hilda Barg (who is a couny supervisor now) has been drafted by the outgoing democrat governor to run for the state house against a freshman republican.
Why spend $150,000 to hook up workers and businesses? That is a good question. The 7-11 doesn't want a bunch of people loitering in their parking lot, it is bad for business.
But it does seem that every problem leads to a "non-profit" organization with a few employees looking for government handouts and donations from others. The same county had a hearing on raising the real estate tax rate and the budget, and the papers reported that most of the people who showed up were representatives of non-profits arguing for bigger budgets.
Charles
Not sure if you joking, but I think day laborers are great. When I've had something difficult that needed to get done, I don't hesitate to hire them. I pay cash.
If I had to go thru an agency, it wouldn't happen.
I'm sure they are mostly all illegal immigrants, but they work their butts off.
Aren't there anti-loitering laws?
Your point on non-profits lobbying for more public monies for their organizations is well-taken.
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