Approaching the U-Haul Store on Hollywood Boulevard is like entering a bustling market. A gaggle of workers swarm you, politely placing business cards into your hand, offering their services. They boast names like “Victor Faster,” “The Smart,” and “Orlando Moving.” Soaring bald eagles, 17-foot long trucks, and cartoons pushing loaded dollies adorn the glossy cards.
The men are day laborers who prowl the parking lot hoping to be hired by someone moving.
“We don’t have papers,” said 41-year-old Manuel – who, like everyone interviewed for this story, declined to give a last name. “So we come to the corners.”
Day laborers are a ubiquitous sight in Los Angeles. According to a UCLA study, an estimated 15,000 – 20,000 day laborers worked in Southern California in the late 1990s. Those numbers have likely risen in the past 20 years. Along with frequenting U-Haul stores, many wait in the parking lots of hardware giants like Home Depot looking for a day’s work. Few, if any, have papers.
http://www.towardfreedom.com/labor/2077-immigrant-day-laborers-struggle-in-the-shadows-of-hollywood
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