Members of the Springs community are forming a coalition to create an alternative to the informal day labor pick-up zone outside of the Barking Dog on Hwy. 12.
Ryan lely/Sonoma Valley Sun
Wanted: Day labor hiring hall
Every day around 7 a.m., 30 to 60 men gather at the corner of Highway 12 and Vallejo Avenue. They fan out along both sides of the street, and wait, hoping for work. Throughout the morning they are picked up by would-be employers looking for short-term laborers for construction, landscaping, agriculture or odd jobs.
A coalition is forming to create a better alternative to the informal day labor pick-up zone. The group is spearheaded by Kenneth Ramirez from Vineyard Workers Services and Libby Hodgson from Barking Dog Roasters, with support from Ellen LaBruce of La Luz Center.
Earlier this month, Hodgson appeared before The Springs Redevelopment Advisory Commission (RAC) to ask for support for creating a day labor hiring hall. “The current situation is not working for the community, the residents, the surrounding businesses or the laborers,” she said.
The group is seeking an off-street location that would provide a restroom as well as shelter from the elements. Ideally, it would be on Highway 12 or close to it, and located within a few blocks of the current location. “Having a fixed, enclosed location would help reduce exploitation by unscrupulous employers and restore a measure of dignity to the condition of day laborers in the Valley,” LaBruce said in a prepared statement to RAC members.
Such a day labor center is called for in The Springs Redevelopment Strategic Plan. RAC commissioner Steve Cox told Hodgson he is interested in learning more about the group’s proposal, especially about the success of other local Sonoma county hiring halls in Fulton, Graton and Healdsburg.
Once the group finds a site, they plan to return to RAC with a request for redevelopment funds for the project.
