http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homep...icle_929711.php

Concerns aired over day laborers in Lake Forest

Unsafe conditions cited by 14 speakers. By RITA M. FREEMAN

The OrangeCounty Register

LAKE FOREST – Members of the City Council listened to 14 speakers Tuesday night express their concerns about day laborers in the city.

S & S Auto Service co-owner Gary Smith said he is sick of litter, public drunkenness and harassment of his customers.

Lake Forest resident Todd MacAndrew said it is unsafe to walk on Jeronimo and El Toro roads.

Land owner Richard Laub said his property values have suffered.

Minuteman Project founder Jim Gilchrist joined residents and business owners in asking the council for its help to remedy the circumstances.

"We have become increasingly frustrated as we have watched our area deteriorate with litter, public urination, drunkenness and harassment of our customers as they slowly pull onto Orange Avenue in search of our location," Smith said. "We are constantly asked by our customers why something isn't done about the day laborers here, and shouldn't we relocate to a less intimidating location?"

The audience of about 30 applauded each time a speaker addressed the council on concerns for their safety and those around them. Some audience members did commend the deputies for their ongoing efforts to help the businesses and owners with the day laborers.

No one was at the meeting to speak on behalf of the day laborers.

In his opening comments as the newly appointed mayor, Richard Dixon said the day laborer problem would be a challenge the city faced this year.

CONTACT US: rfreeman@ocregister.com or (949) 454-7360

The US is a nation of laws. We live in a republic. Our government is to reflect the will of the people.

The article about the Lake Forest City Council Meeting merely reflects the fact that residents and business owners do not like loitering individuals.

WHY? Because it's bad for business and makes the streets unsafe for children.

Welcome, Border Raven, to the reporter ranks of Indymedia. ;-)

I was considering reposting this article as well. I wanted to state that I wanted to attend a city council meeting to speak. To suggest that they take the day labor situation and move it to a location that won't interfere with businesses and parking lots of businesses. Not take the work away from the day labor workers. This situation is one I thought was going to keep continuing. But for a short-term solution, to move it somewhere else. Kind of like how Laguna Beach has an established day labor center.

So all the stuff like day labor pick ups and protesters and news reporters can do all this in one location.

Now, I say I thought the day labor situation was going to continue. But it looks like the SOS/Minuteman folks got the police to take some action at El Toro road where the Carls Jr. is located. I'm not sure where it will go from here. But it could bring about conflicts and there have already been some incidents.

I've been with SOS for about a year, and that's about the extent of my time working on trying to understand the dynamics of the casual/informal day labor sites.

I actually support the idea of a day labor site. I like the work ethic, the workers learn, while performing menial, mindless, dirty, hard, and often dangerous work. The kind of work I did as a teen.

-x- I have taken a lawnmower, and can of gas, around, asking neighbors if I can cut the lawn. Now that job is more organized.

-x- I have stood in an un-shored, 6-foot deep trench, with a shovel, while wet concrete was poured in. I was up to my butt, in the slurry, and the trench was 300 feet long. Now that job is regulated.

-x- I have performed all of the household chores. Now we have Molly Maids and nannies. (I wish!)

One problem, I see with the day labor sites, is they don't encourage the employers to follow the worker protection laws, we have worked so hard over the past ~100 years to establish. There is no enforcement of labor, safety, or worker eligibility laws, designed to protect the law abiding immigrants and citizens. The employers are not using the W-4, W-2, and I-9 forms, among others. I doubt many employers have an employer Identification number (EIN) required by anyone in the state who has employees. I have also seen some unlicensed contractors.

The situation, allows the employer to contract, with a day laborer, under the table, no forms, no badges, just profits for the rich.

Let me explain, I have worked in various jobs, and industries, since late-1992. I have noticed a loose paper or two, sitting on a desktop. I know, that while I was being paid, .50 to .16, an hour (1994-1998), as a floor assembler, the employer billed my time, to the customer, at an hour, subtracted overhead, and profited on the rest. But, this is business.

For instance, should you someday buy a house, and need a licensed plumbing contractor, to do some work, pull permits, schedule inspectors, and a whole list of other things. You should know, the contractor, can hire someone under the table, charge you full Journeyman wages, but pay the worker, 0 cash, for the day. I ask you who is the victim and who is the profiteer? You the customer, didn't save any money, the worker gets .35 to .50 an hour (no benefits), but the contractor makes a larger profit.

Oh, but maybe we forgot another victim. What happened to the American citizen or legal-resident, who could be white, brown, yellow, black, green, or purple? Did he or she, get fucked out of an income? You bet, they did. BTW -- You may find many of these people, by visiting a temporary employee leasing business.

Have you sat in you car and observed the day laborers? Can you see the competition, the desperation, the hunger, to get a job, earn some money, so they can eat, and provide for their families?

An unregulated industry, such as the day labor situation, is like a litter of puppies, fighting for a teat to suck. Somebody is going to be the loser.

Also consider the dangers to the public. I have noticed, from watching the Watchdog's videos, how lax, we have become, in dealing with strangers. In a society, where we don't pick up hitchhikers on the highway, we pickup total strangers, by the donut shop, liquor store, or home improvement store. Imagine, a lone woman, a mother, driving the family SUV, with the 3-year old child, in the child seat, and she is picking up a strange man? She is risking her life, her child's life, and the family car, just to save a few dollars. She could be raped and killed, or turned into a prostitute; the child could be sold, and the vehicle used to transport criminals, then sold for parts, or taken into Mexico.

Seeing, that more enforcement, of the law, is costly, and won't save us any taxes, I favor, the more-regulated industry of labor-leasing, but it comes with a condition. The condition is every one of you who applies at Apple One, or Labor Ready, or labor Connection, etc., needs to ask for minimum pay of two times the State or Federal Minimum Wage, whichever is the greater, plus benefits (medical, dental, vacation, etc.).

Unfortunately, this will require the undocumented immigrants, to self-deport themselves, back home, before ICE has to do it. Of course, if you are having financial difficulties, and need a ride to the border or interior of certain countries, contact ICE and arrange for a reservation on the next available bus, train or plane.

Now, failing the options, of self-deportation and ICE, should you think, you can wait, until ICE comes for you, consider, all of the millions of angry American citizens, who are fed up with the illegal invasion, wage deflation, job loss, property devaluation, etc. These citizens and legal-immigrants, might have some encouragement for all of the undocumented immigrants.

Thank you for your time and consideration

BR