Posted on 08/17/2005 5:18:19 AM PDT by chambley1
Two dozen Latino men immediately swarm to Joe Schilling's pickup truck the moment he pulls into the parking lot off Shirlington Road. Schilling is looking for landscaping help and he pays a good wage by day-laborer standards — $14 an hour.
After a few minutes, Schilling has picked his men, eschewing an offer from a county worker who helps manage the site to pick the workers using a lottery system.
The three men chosen by Schilling hop into his pickup, smiling broadly and waving as they pull away.
The Arlington lot is one of several sites throughout northern Virginia where would-be day laborers gather looking for construction and landscaping work or other odd jobs. But the Arlington site is unique in Virginia because it is sponsored by the county, which spends tax dollars to manage the site.
A proposal to create a similar center in Herndon, in neighboring Fairfax County, has erupted into controversy, with opponents saying it is improper to spend tax dollars to help illegal immigrants hunt for jobs.
The proposal was to go before the public Tuesday and was likely to spill over into a second night.
Schilling said he frequently uses day laborers, finding them at the Arlington site and at unregulated spots.
"These guys work twice as hard. I get a lot more work for my money," Schilling said. "White guys, they just have too many expectations. My biggest problem with these guys is they'll work so hard that they'll do more than I ask them to do."
Since 2003, the parking lot, equipped with just a few benches, a canopy and some rest rooms, has served as a designated spot in Arlington County for day laborers to gather seeking work. The county spends nearly $200,000 annually to manage the site and a smaller one nearby.
"I see people that at times are misunderstanding the issue" in Herndon, said Andres Tobar, a civic leader in Arlington and executive director of the Shirlington Employment and Education Center, which manages the day-labor site. "People are trying to make it an issue of undocumented folks ... but it's really a safety issue."
Tobar said the presence of a county-designated spot simply brings some order to an otherwise chaotic scene. Without it, workers will congregate on street corners and convenience store lots, and the resulting rush can create traffic and safety concerns, he said.
On any given day, between 20 to 30 workers will find jobs at the Shirlington site, not quite half of those who show up. Tobar said employers are encouraged to pay a fair wage, from $10 to $15 an hour depending on the work, maybe more for job requiring especially heavy labor.
Day laborers register at the site and are entered into a lottery system that gives all laborers an equal chance to be hired for unskilled work. Those with specific skills, like carpentry, can be matched up with employers seeking skilled labor.
Day laborers are not asked about their immigration status; Tobar acknowledged that most are not legal, but he said many are working through the immigration bureaucracy to obtain legal status, a process that can take years.
Some day laborers said they find work at the site only once or twice a week; others said they have had more success. Everybody agreed that more work was available last year. Tobar said the center wants to get the word out beyond contractors and landscapers about the workers' availability. Ordinary homeowners seeking help with odd jobs or moving can also use the site, for instance.
Carlos Maldonado, who came to the United States from Guatemala as a child, said he looks for work at site because, without a car, it's difficult to obtain a regular job.
"Here in northern Virginia there's a lot of jobs. The problem is, 'How can you get there?'" he said.
Despite the creation of the county site, an unregulated site still operates out of a nearby drugstore parking lot. Those who come to the county site, though, say the contractors at the county site tend to pay a little better.
Another big advantage of the county site, the workers agree, is that restrooms are available.
In Herndon, town council member Ann Null, who opposes creation of a town-sponsored day laborer center, said she has visited the Arlington site and is not impressed. The biggest issue, she said, is that unregulated sites still flourish despite the creation of an official site.
Null said she also has a philosophical problem with such a center.
"Aiding and abetting illegal aliens is just not what we're supposed to be doing. Government should protect us from illegal activity rather than support it," she said.
Herndon Mayor Michael O'Reilly, who supports the proposed center, said a government-designated site will empower the town to clean up the undesignated site. He said it would be unconstitutional to ban day-labor solicitations unless the county designates a legal site.
"A regulated site where you can have restrooms and some control over what's going on is better than what we currently have," O'Reilly said.
While the Herndon proposal has generated intense interest — town council phone lines were jammed when a local talk-radio host opposed to the idea gave out the number — Arlington's site has operated quietly with little controversy.
Arlington County Board member Walter Tejada said national anti-immigration groups have turned their sights on Herndon and turned a local issue into an ideological battleground.
"The vast majority of these people immigrants who are looking for work and willing to do jobs that those who criticize immigrants are not going to be doing any time soon," Tejada said. "We can yell and complain, or we can find a constructive solution."
___
On the Net:
Shirlington Employment and Education Center:
http://seecjobs.org
Town of Herndon: http://herndon-va.gov/
speechless
Andres Tobar
atobar@seecjobs.org
Andres Tobar
atobar@seecjobs.org
"Here in northern Virginia there's a lot of jobs. The problem is, 'How can you get there?'" he said.
Give 'em directions to MetroBus or MetroRail.
I lived in Arlington for 8 years and worked at the same job. 90% of the time I did not use my personal car.
"...he pays a good wage by day-laborer standards — $14 an hour."
I had to take a second job, since my wife's expecting. I got something with a certain armed security company. Among other prerequisites, I had to pass a drug screen (don't laugh- in this part of the world, that alone washes out a ton of applicants!), have my state pistol permit in hand, qualify to company standard with a duty weapon, pass a DOT physical, and some other stuff.
All to make $11 an hour. And on payday, I lose about $100 in taxes, etc. I *wish* I could make $14 an hour, tax free, for a part time gig.
Too bad I'm not illegal, so after my baby's born I could just collect welfare and whatnot. Big, big mistake too getting my immigrant wife all processed and legal- huge expense, tremendous hassle, and no reward. But being a citizen, I guess I'm f*cked.
How many other citizens or legal resident aliens are feeling a little dismayed, when they realize that illegals make more than they do?!
Jay Fisette - Chairman, Arlington County Board
jfisette@arlingtonva.us
No need for guessing.
Congratulations on [soon] becoming a parent.
I would love to see any politician try to answer your question.
"White guys, they just have too many expectations."
- Sound racist to me. I think I'm offended. Where's the NAAWP when I need it?
c1,
Actually I'm in MA. Here the illegals run Dunkin' Donuts shops instead of putting up drywall.
DD,
Thanks.
You hit the nail on the head; TAX FREE. That little fact is ignored by the 'open border, good for the economy' crowd. These pukes don't pay any INCOME Taxes. Forget FICA (separate issue), come April 15th they're sucking down Tequila instead of PAYING their "fair share". 99.643% don't know what a 1040 even is.
Btw, my regards to to and your family. Keep your chin up.
The county should be on the receiving end of a RICO suit.
Isn't there a website out there where you can report not only illegal aliens but the employers who hire them? Seems to me this guy just admitted to the world that he is breaking the law.
The fun part of this story in relation to what we fought in Herndon .According to this story ,Arlington's site cost $200,000 a year to handle approx. 60 people a day ,only providing HALF with work .
The ANTICIPATED number of people at the Herndon site is approx.150 (based on turn out at 7-11 ).Yet we are ASSURED the Herndon site can be run by volunteers with NO long term tax dollars ,just the 1 time grant from Fairfax County ?
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