This day labor center is on Sherman Way right off of Radford, in North Hollywood (about 1/2 mile east of Laural Canyon Bl). I remember when it was announced at its opening circa 1990, that it would get all the day laborers off of all the streets in the San Fernando valley. When the site was visited June 13, 2001 , it looked more like a recreation center. There were only about four people chatting and enjoying some refreshments. I saw no labor activity. Here is some archived information written when the center first opened. The longest-organized CHIRLA sites in the city are those in North Hollywood and Harbor City - the original hiring halls set up by the City of Los Angeles in 1989. Today, they provide a vision of what finding day labor job can be like. The North Hollywood site, off Sherman Way, has a drive-through area where contractors can pull up to do their hiring. Farther inside the big triangular lot, an open area with an awning shelters workers as they play checkers, talk and drink coffee. A portable building provides space for literacy classes and a tiny office with computers. =========================================================== After 10 years of this Day Labor Center (L.A. has six at a cost of nearly $1 million/year), there has been a significant increase in street side solicitation by day laborers in the San Fernando Valley: |
Hal Netkin for Council 11 |
