Plan to Organize Dayworkers Collapses

A plan to organize Laguna Beach day laborers collapsed Tuesday when a majority of workers at the site rejected the proposal, according to the resident who spearheaded it.

“We had a bit of a breakdown at the hiring area this morning,” said Patrick O’Flanagan, who developed the plan to organize the dayworkers after becoming concerned about the sometimes chaotic activity at the hiring lot on Laguna Canyon Road. “Gradually, the dissenters took over. At that point, I just said, ‘Let’s just take some time out and think about it.’ ”

The proposal called for creation of an association of day laborers, a democratically run organization with elected officers. The goal was to impose order at the site, so that workers would not swarm over vehicles that pull onto the lot, a technique that O’Flanagan and the workers have said frightens motorists and costs the laborers jobs.

The idea was for workers to take numbers when they arrived at the site and allow a paid monitor to call them when it was their turn to work. Association members were expected to pay dues of $1 per week and wear photo identification badges.

Although most workers initially supported the plan, O’Flanagan said, disagreements erupted among the approximately 30 laborers at the site Tuesday morning, largely over the first-come, first-served provision that is at the heart of the proposal.

Generally, workers from Laguna Beach tended to favor the plan while those from out of the area did not, O’Flanagan said.

The pilot project was scheduled to go before the Laguna Beach City Council on Tuesday, but O’Flanagan asked that it be pulled from the agenda.

The plan had already won the backing of two local organizations.

The Housing and Human Affairs Committee had asked that the city spend $7,500 to begin the project, and the Cross-Cultural Council, which seeks to form bonds among diverse cultural groups, had agreed to administer the funds.

O’Flanagan became acquainted with the workers when he began offering informal English lessons at the site each morning about 11 months ago. He said Tuesday that he will discontinue the lessons.