MORGAN HILL
– Rain held off Monday morning while a rainbow shone on the
groundbreaking for the long-awaited center for dayworkers who wait
for casual jobs at East Main and Depot, gathering year-round in all
weather.
MORGAN HILL – Rain held off Monday morning while a rainbow shone on the groundbreaking for the long-awaited center for dayworkers who wait for casual jobs at East Main and Depot, gathering year-round in all weather.
Gold-painted shovels were wielded by members of the St. Catherine’s Dayworker Committee – who started the project – and by city officials who helped, beginning construction on the South County Dayworker Center’s temporary location. The center should open for business within three months.
Before dirt and gravel were turned over, however, Julian Mancias, the center’s board chair, talked of the time and dedication it had taken to get this far.
“Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. will be the three-year anniversary of the committee,” Mancias said. “This is the fruit of our labors.”
He said the center will get the workers inside out of the weather and dignify their honest work. The center is the result of a model city/community partnership, helped along by the City Council, Mancias said.
“This is a marriage most communities wish they had,” he said.
English alternated with Spanish throughout the ceremony, since about 50 Spanish-speaking dayworkers watched and listened, hearing – some for the first time – of the center’s possibilities. Juan Diaz translated.
Architects Charles Weston and Lesley Miles were introduced to applause – their firm has bought the now-closed Isaacson Grain Co. to renovate into offices, leasing unused property to the center for $1 a month. The firm has also performed hours of free design work for the center’s two portable buildings.
“I thank them for their benevolence,” Mancias said.
Anthony Eulo, assistant to the city manager and the principal liaison between the committee and the city, and Councilwoman Hedy Chang, a committee stalwart, were also showered in applause during the ceremony just west of the railroad tracks near the downtown.
Pastors Eugene O’Donnell and Oscar Morales of Saint Catherine’s Catholic Church blessed the endeavor. With Diaz’s help, Morales performed a traditional Aztec blessing, sprinkling water from a small cedar branch, to the four directions: north, east, south and west.
Lisa DeSilva, of Community Solutions, praised the center’s purpose.
“It will offer protection for workers,” DeSilva said.
Responding to occasional comments from residents that the workers are often undocumented and should not take up valuable resources, she said, “These are our neighbors – they are here, they do jobs no one else will do.”
At the moment the hiring situation for casual laborers in Morgan Hill has no formal structure and workers line the streets, waiting and waiting.
Men arrive earlier and earlier to stake out the most favorable spots, hoping to be noticed by residents who come by looking for workers, Mancias said. In a proper center like one operated by St. Vincent de Paul in San Jose there is a lottery and everyone has the same chance at a job.
The center will be run by the SCDC’s board of directors, providing overall guidance and oversight.
America Romero acts as the center’s director and will “coordinate hiring and check documentation,” Mancias said last week. “This would protect the employer as well as the employee and provides a degree of safety for everybody.”
Weston Miles is the largest, but not the only group, donating time, money or materials to the project, which has been in the works by the SCDC for more than two years.
Graniterock will help with the building’s foundation and Dick Oliver of Dividend Development Corp. has also offered assistance. Because the building is considered to be temporary, the city planning department has granted some temporary waivers for curbs, gutters, landscaping and some paving.
Whether or not the City Council will exempt the center from a formal parking lot is still up in the air, according to Mancias.
“We do need volunteer contractors to help with construction,” Mancias said. “We are trying to mitigate installation of the parking lot – possibly using baserock and less asphalt to save money.”
He said the committee also is looking for donations of time and material.
The cost to the Dayworker Committee to put the portables in place, hook them up to the city utility systems and some parking expense is estimated by Weston and the committee to be $200,000. An outside eating area for the men, a storage unit, remodeling and adding bathrooms and windows would be an extra $35,000 to $50,000.
The Council in April approved a Community Development Block Grant grant for $50,000 for the center. Council later approved adding an extra $30,000 for the center’s use.
Mancias and the committee have had their troubles with the city over rules and expectations but has ultimately found help and encouragement at City Hall.
“The City Council has been very helpful,” Mancias said. “We are very pleased with their support.”
Donations are still needed for the center. Details:
778-5513.
