A local organization is trying to formalize a system of workers in Orange County who are looking for work each day.

Every morning, at or before 6 o’clock, people gather on a corner in Orange County and wait, hoping for a car to come along with someone needing work done. They have no guarantee that they will find work that day. And even worse, they have no guarantee that if they are picked up for a job, and they complete the task, that they will be paid.

This is the life of a day laborer: hoping for work and a paycheck.

El Centro Hispano is an organization that serves Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Durham, and the surrounding area, whose mission is to help Latinos integrate into and strengthen the community.

They are working to provide a framework to this day-laborer system through the construction of a worker’s center.

“The idea is to have a grand opening in April of the worker’s center,” says El Centro President and CEO Pilar Rocha-Goldberg.

She says this system will aid both workers and employers.

“The idea is to give a safe and educational place to the workers,” she says. “But (it’s) also connecting the employers with the workers and easing tension between community members and workers on the corner.”

Rocha-Golderg adds this center will serve as an asset to the entire community.

“It is going to be an economic development improvement for employers and workers,” she says. “The idea is to open it, not only for Latinos, but for every worker looking for a job.”

She says this center will allow the workers to come to a safe environment where they can learn additional skills. The center will then provide a network of qualified workers to choose from for those seeking assistance.

There are obstacles that still stand between the idea of the system and the reality of a functioning day-laborer center.

“We are trying to raise money to finish,” she says. “We need to build a second bathroom at El Centro and also another door and a ramp. We need money to start the system running. We need your help and your support.”

Rocha-Goldberg says they offer many services to the community, including health services, educational offerings, and help with translation when a language barrier exists.

If you would like to support El Centro Hispano in their mission to complete a day-laborer center, you can donate through their website.

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