La Mirada : Task Force on Day Laborers Urges Creating a Job Center

A panel of residents, business people and city officials seeking solutions to the problem of day laborers soliciting work on city streets has recommended that La Mirada work with Los Angeles County to establish a site for workers to meet potential employers.

The 20-member Day Laborer Task Force also called for continued monitoring of the situation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and a survey of residents about building a center for day laborers in La Mirada. The group presented its report to the City Council.

“It was our feeling all along that we wanted to see something positive done for the community and the day laborers,” said Norm Anderson, vice chairman of the task force. He called the recommendation to establish an employment site “an appropriate choice and one that most members of the task force feel comfortable with.”

According to the task force, costs of establishing similar employment centers in communities such as Brea, Costa Mesa, Orange and Los Angeles ranged from $38,000 to $500,000. Annual operating costs are $39,000 to $280,000.

The council formed the 20-member task force in August to find solutions to the day laborer problem that has continued for more than a year. Residents and business owners had complained that day laborers gathered at La Mirada Boulevard and Imperial Highway “disrupted residential and commercial areas by urinating and defecating in public, intimidating passersby, and creating traffic hazards,” according to the task force report.