ORANGE : Seekers Outnumber Hiring Hall Jobs 17-1

The dayworkers registering at the city’s new hiring hall outnumber the available jobs by more than 17 to 1, according to statistics released this week by the resource center staff.

The statistics show that an average of 259 laborers registered for work each day in the first two weeks of operation; an average of seven employers participated daily in the program, the statistics show. About 15 matches were made daily.

The second week of operation showed a slowdown over the first week, when 18 job matches were averaged daily. While the number of women workers quadrupled and the average number of workers participating also rose slightly, the number of employers and job matches dropped.

Carmen Saldana, resource center supervisor, said employers attributed the slow second week to rain and spring vacations.

In a report on the center’s early operations, officials declared that the first week was “incredibly successful,” even though “the overwhelming response from workers was somewhat overshadowed by the lack of employers.”

Councilwoman Joanne Coontz acknowledged at Tuesday’s City Council meeting that the number of workers using the hall “is probably twice as many as we thought” there would be.

Mayor Don E. Smith added that the worker-employer ratio may improve once police enforce two city ordinances later this month that prohibit seeking work, or hiring day laborers, on the streets. The ordinances carry maximum penalties of $1,000 and six months in jail.

Some council members have expressed concern that the resource center cannot be effective unless employers are also induced to participate.

Gary Wann, operations manager for the hiring hall, said the city has done “a complete marketing blitz” to alert employers to the existence of the resource center.

John Braithwaite, executive director of El Modena Community Center, said the ineffectiveness of the hiring hall can be measured by the rise in the number of workers served by the Community Center’s soup kitchen.

The soup kitchen, which is about a mile from the hiring hall, has served 30% more workers since the hiring hall opened. The kitchen regularly serves lunch to between 30 and 40 day laborers.

“They’re not getting jobs, so they’re coming over here to eat,” Braithwaite said.

Reluctance on the part of some employers to participate may spring from fears that they could run afoul of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

The hiring hall does not check on the immigration status of the day laborers who congregate there seeking jobs. Instead, the task of ensuring that the workers meet federal immigration laws falls on the employers, who must sign a waiver accepting the responsibility before participating at the hiring hall.

Most of the workers registered are unskilled men and women who live in Orange. Less than 1% are from outside Orange, but Saldana said she registered her first Los Angeles-based worker Wednesday.

The hiring hall has also registered laborers from Santa Ana, Anaheim, Westminster and other communities.

HIRING HALL RESULTS

Totals after two weeks: Category: Number Men using center: 2,754 Women using center: 92 Employers: 88 Employment matches: 181 Source: Hiring hall staff