Organizing immigrant day laborers on the street: Where program design meets city policies and neighborhood politics

The widespread visibility of Latin American immigrant laborers seeking work on U.S. streets fuels fierce public controversy. Policy initiatives have ranged from the punitive (anti-loitering legislation) to the supportive (worker-centers providing job-matching and social services) each with their respective disadvantages or challenges. This case study provides an overview of San Francisco Bay Area day laborer program models and examines in depth two hiring sites experimenting with an alternative model of street-based outreach, community building among day laborers, and mediation among sectors traditionally opposed to day laborers' presence. This approach recognizes the difficulties in attracting day laborers to inside hiring hall sites that are perceived as compromising their autonomy. By viewing the abuses and hazards that day laborers suffer while seeking work on the street as occupational risks, the hypothesis is that changing the policy and physical environment through city level coordination is conducive to worker safety and furthermore diminishes stresses associated with work conditions. Furthermore, working with day laborers on the street provides opportunities for health education and injury prevention, health services, advocacy, and collective action.