DC Jobs With Justice Corner: Day Laborers Organize in DC:

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)
More than two hundred day laborers gather each morning on street corners and in parking lots around DC to seek work. Though many of them perform skilled labor, they are often paid less than the minimum wage and work without proper safety equipment. Many contractors take advantage of the informal work arrangement by cheating workers out of their wages. In 2006, day laborers in DC came together and formed the Union de Trabajadores de Washington, DC. This worker-led organization - with the support of DC Jobs with Justice (JwJ), Foundry United Methodist Church (UMC), the DC Employment Justice Center, the American Friends Service Committee and others - works to promote dignity and justice for day laborers in DC. In addition to gaining access to health and legal services and building community among day laborers, one of the main concerns of the Union de Trabajadores has been to create a safer and more orderly situation at their main gathering place – the Home Depot in Northeast DC. In 2007, DC JwJ and Interfaith Worker Justice joined the Union de Trabajadores in supporting plans to build a center in Ward 5 where day laborers could seek work under just conditions and unemployed and under-employed DC residents could access job services. Realizing that day labor issues are at a critical juncture, DC JwJ has committed to devote more resources in 2008 to supporting the development of the Union de Trabajadores and pursuing a worker center in DC. Our first step was to hire an organizer – Pedro Cruz – to work directly with the Union de Trabajadores. Our next step is to convene allies to lead a campaign for a worker center in DC that will further our mission of securing the rights of all workers and increasing access to good jobs for DC residents. DC JwJ is being supported in this new work by Foundry UMC, the Hill-Snowdon Foundation, Holy Trinity Catholic Church, and the Public Welfare Foundation. For more info and to get your organization involved, contact Mackenzie Baris, mbaris@dclaborarchives.org; 202-974-8224.