[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 25 (Thursday, March 2, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E256-E257]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




FIRST NATIONAL STUDY OF DAY LABORERS EXPOSES ABUSE, INJURIES, H.R. 4437 
                        WOULD MAKE MATTERS WORSE

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 2, 2006

  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, they pay taxes, raise children, attend 
church, and participate in community activities and institutions. Yet, 
when America's day laborers go to work, they have experiences that 
would shock any other upstanding community member: police harassment, 
violence at the hands of employers, withheld wages and conditions so 
dangerous that is not unusual for them to be sidelined for more than a 
month with work-related injuries or to work for weeks on end in pain. 
In Illinois and in other States in the Midwest, day laborers work under 
more dangerous conditions, are more likely to suffer labor abuse, and 
are also more likely to suffer police harassment compared to workers in 
other regions.
  This is the vivid portrait painted by the first nationwide study of 
America's 117,600 day laborers. The result of research by social 
scientists from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), the 
University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), and New York's New 
School University, ``On the Corner: Day Labor in the United States,'' 
presents findings from a survey of 264 hiring sites in 143 
municipalities in 20 U.S. States and the District of Columbia.
  ``The goal was to document a population that, though quite visible on 
the corners of U.S. cities, is poorly understood by the public and by 
policy makers,'' said Nik Theodore, an assistant professor in the Urban 
Planning and Policy Program at UIC, and one of the study's three lead 
authors. ``We hope to inform policy debates so that decisionmakers can 
devise thoughtful and effective strategies for resolving many of the 
problems that day laborers face.''
  According to the national study's findings, worker centers give a 
voice and power to people who often lack both. They are gateway 
organizations that meet immigrant workers where they are and provide 
them with a wealth of information and training. In all too many cases, 
these centers are the only ``port in the storm'' for low-wage immigrant 
workers seeking to understand U.S. labor and immigration laws, file 
back wage claims, and organize

[[Page E257]]

against recalcitrant employers. The Latino Union of Chicago runs the 
only worker center for day laborers in the Midwest, located in the 
Albany Park neighborhood of Chicago.
  If the Border Protection, Anti-Terrorism and Illegal Immigration Act 
(H.R. 4437) is enacted, this comprehensive community approach would 
come to an end. It would destroy the very institutions in our 
communities that have developed real solutions. Day labor centers (and 
the private individuals, churches and government agencies that work 
with them) could face thousands or even millions of dollars in fines if 
they assist in the process of connecting day laborers to employers. The 
trust that day labor centers have built with communities would be 
eroded as the centers become responsible for verifying workers' 
immigration status. Volunteers and staff of worker centers would be 
turned into criminals and work center property could be seized. Good 
work, such as providing ESL classes and job skills training or 
leadership development, would be equated with alien smuggling.
  H.R. 4437 and bills with similar provisions don't just jeopardize the 
lives of some immigrants, they are attacks on all our communities. As a 
first-generation American and as a Congresswoman who is honored to 
represent one of the most richly diverse districts in the country, I 
believe Washington must act now on immigration reform that keeps the 
American dream alive--not roll back the good work that day labor 
centers do every day across the Nation.
  I urge my colleagues to look at the national study released by UIC 
and UCLA, which I hope is the first of many, to help us understand the 
problems day laborers and immigrants face in our country.

             On the Corner: Day Labor in the United States

  (By Abel Valenzuela, Jr., Nik Theodore, Edwin Melendez, and Ana Luz 
                               Gonzalez)


                           Executive Summary

       This report profiles, for the first time, the national 
     phenomenon of day labor in the United States. Men and women 
     looking for employment in open-air markets by the side of the 
     road, at busy intersections, in front of home improvement 
     stores and in other public spaces are ubiquitous in cities 
     across the nation. The circumstances that give rise to this 
     labor market are complex and poorly understood. In this 
     report, we analyze data from the National Day Labor Survey, 
     the first systematic and scientific study of the day-labor 
     sector and its workforce in the United States.
       This portrait of day labor in the United States is based on 
     a national survey of 2,660 day laborers. These workers were 
     randomly selected at 264 hiring sites in 139 municipalities 
     in 20 States and the District of Columbia. The sheer number 
     of these sites, combined with their presence in every region 
     in the country, reflects the enormous breadth of this labor 
     market niche.
       Our findings reveal that the day-labor market is rife with 
     violations of workers' rights. Day laborers are regularly 
     denied payment for their work, many are subjected to 
     demonstrably hazardous job sites, and most endure insults and 
     abuses by employers. The growth of day-labor hiring sites 
     combined with rising levels of workers' rights violations is 
     a national trend that warrants attention from policy makers 
     at all levels of government.
       In some cities, the rise of day labor has been accompanied 
     by community tensions, in part because of inaccurate and 
     unsubstantiated portrayals of these workers. The aim of this 
     study is to provide sound empirical data on the day-labor 
     phenomenon that can inform public discussions and provide the 
     basis for thoughtful policy approaches to this complex issue.

                          ____________________