City Council Makes Historic Investment Into Local Day Laborer Centers

City Council will inject $500,000 into New York City’s day laborer job centers, announced Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras-Copeland, and Councilman Carlos Menchaca at Bay Parkway Community Job Center (8973 Bay Parkway) Monday.

Speaking at the Bensonhurst employment center — which is one of the first and oldest in the city — the speaker and council members were joined by immigrant advocacy groups like Workers Justice Project, the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agency, the New Immigrant Community Empowerment, the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, the Staten Island Jobs Center, along with dozens of day laborers.

“Day laborers play a fundamental role in the construction, development and growth of our great city,” said Mark-Viverito. “Beyond their hard work day in and day out, these laborers contribute so much to the vibrancy and richness of New York. The funding for this initiative will continue to validate these centers as epicenters of workforce development for this community of workers.”

In the 2016 fiscal year, $500,000 was allocated through the Day Laborer Initiative, which will be used for the expansion and development of day laborer centers. Services will include dignified physical space for day laborers to meet, referrals to job or support services, legal services to address issues such as wage theft, as well as workforce training and development.

“The City Council’s allocation of $500,000  for this important initiative signals our commitment to the issues of workers–especially the most marginalized,” said Menchaca, who chairs the Council’s Committee on Immigration. “Day laborers, as we’ve seen and studied, are facing incredible hurdles to remain employed and provide for themselves and their loved ones. Creating centers where they can access services — in the their language — will prove transformative to their development as workers and as members of our community.”

Many advocacy groups applauded the Council’s decision Monday.

“This historic investment in Day Labor Centers is a meaningful step to raise and enforce robust labor standards in an informal sector with non-traditional employment relations. It will allow entire communities to set fair wages, better working conditions and will improve the quality of life of workers and their families,” said Ligia Guallpa, Executive Director of the Worker’s Justice Project, which runs the Bensonhurst job center.

The Day Laborer Initiative recognizes the work that day laborer centers do as the epicenters of workforce development for this community of workers. Participating partners in this initiative are the Department of Small Business Services (SBS), New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE), Staten Island Community Job Center (SICJC), Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA) and Third Sector of New England.

“This Initiative is the first of its kind in NYC, it will improve the conditions of our day laborer community,” said Carlos Vargas from the Staten Island Community Job Center. “These men and women work tirelessly to support their families and they are a vital role in the contribution of our local economy.”