Day Laborers Protest Ban on Seeking Work on the Street

About 100 day laborers, angry about a recent Agoura Hills law that prohibits them from seeking work on street corners, marched on City Hall on Wednesday in a protest that organizers called the first of its kind in the area.

Chanting “we want work, not tickets,” workers from Central America and Mexico marched from their usual gathering spot at Kanan and Agoura roads to City Hall a mile away.

They carried handwritten signs that read in English and Spanish, “We Want to Work in Peace.”

Carlos Ardon, an outreach worker for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, which organized the march, said day laborers should have a voice in suburban communities that are trying more and more to keep them out.

“This proves that day laborers are not afraid to get organized,” Ardon said. “This is a free country, and they have the right to protest.”

Since June 1, it has been illegal for day laborers to solicit work on street corners and in other public areas in Agoura Hills.

Violators can be cited by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and Ardon said some of the men have been turned over to federal immigration authorities.

Organizers timed the march to coincide with a reconsideration of the ordinance by the City Council on Wednesday night, hoping the display might persuade some council members to change their minds.

City Councilwoman Fran Pavley said the city did not violate anyone’s rights when it enacted the law because it also created a telephone referral service to match workers with employers.

Five or six men find work through the city’s referral service each day, City Manager David Carmany said.

But Ardon said many of the men feel uncomfortable using the city service and think that their chances are better if they sit and wait on street corners.

About 15 men are hired each day from their gathering spot at the Kanan Village Shopping Center on Kanan Road next to the Ventura Freeway, Ardon said.

Merchants at the mall complained that the men litter, urinate in public and frighten away customers as they wait for prospective employers.

“Our business dropped 30% to 35% in the last year,” said Mansour Haddad, manager of Agoura Liquor.

“People get scared when these guys jump at their cars.”

Ardon and some of the workers admitted that there are problems, but added that the majority of day laborers are well-behaved and should not be punished for the actions of a few.

“We want to work,” said Carlos Diaz, 19, of Van Nuys. “That’s all we want to do.”

Marchers received little support from passing motorists and pedestrians.

“I don’t think anybody has any sympathy for this,” said one man who declined to give his name.

“They come up here uninvited. This society can only give so much. I’ve had it.”