Community Leaders Discuss How to Resolve Day Labor Issue

Mamk. Village & Day Laborers Renew Talks as Federal Suit is Adjourned

by Harold Wolfson

(May 18, 2006) What can be done to resolve the conflict between the Village of Mamaroneck and the day laborers? This was the topic religious and municipal leaders had come to discuss at the Local Summit’s May 16 meeting.

The Summit discussion came three months after the Village of Mamaroneck closed its official day labor site in Columbus Park and only a few weeks after the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund filed a federal law suit on April 27 on behalf of six unnamed day laborers against the Village of Mamaroneck, the Mayor and the Chief of Police. The plaintiffs charged the Village and its leaders with having violated the laborers’ freedom of speech and right of assembly. Only a few days before the Summit meeting, on May 12, Federal Judge Colleen McMahon approved an adjournment of the trial with the requirement that the two sides renew talks (by no later than Wednesday May 16) with the goal of resolving their issues. The parties are due back in court on May 30 to report on their progress.

So what can be done at this point?

Eight leaders of the faith-based community sat at the head table in what the Summit’s chairperson, Mary Lee Berridge, called “The Holy Wall.” They and representatives from the three local municipalities and Westchester County shared their views. All indicated they believe the conflict can be worked out in a reasoned way without further resort to the federal legal suit.

Rev. Thomas Nicoll of St. John’s Episcopal Church and Rev. Deborah Tammearu of St. Thomas Episcopal Church were among the clergy and municipal leaders searching for solutions to the day labor issue.

William Paonessa, Mamaroneck Village’s deputy mayor, said the Village “did not need a law suit to come together with the day laborers.” He acknowledged, “We’ve taken a black eye,” and said the Village was looking forward to the next day’s discussion with the day laborers and the Hispanic Resource Center. But finding a suitable gathering place for the day laborers to seek work will not be an easy task, he noted.

“Many sites have been brought to our attention, none of them perfect,” he said. Sitting down and discussing the matter with the day laborers and their committee will be very helpful, he acknowledged. “Together we will make it as perfect as possible,” he said.

Mariana Boneo, newly named executive director of the Hispanic Resource Center, said she was hopeful that the adjournment of the federal law suit and the requirement that the two parties sit down and try to negotiate a settlement could prove fruitful.

But she told the Summit, “The day laborers and the Hispanic Resource Center can’t do it alone. We need to bridge the tension. We need the whole community to be part of this. We have to confront this issue in a thoughtful way.”

She also noted that “Since the filing of the legal suit against the Village it’s been wonderful for the day laborers. They are finding work and there has been no harassment.”

Father Brian McWeeney of Sts. John and Paul Church urged both sides to get beyond “30 second sound bites.” He said the worker issue is a community concern and the community needs to deal with it. He cautioned that day laborers are not uniform. They include “undocumented workers, those with green cards and US citizens without steady work.”

Immigration, he said, is an issue that “has been around for 300 years and each generation has had to deal with it.” He noted that Hispanics were not the first to enter this country illegally. He said his Irish compatriots have had “many a trip that lasted a lifetime.” His own father was a migrant. “He arrived October 15, 1929,” he said. “Two weeks later the stock market crashed and the Great Depression began.” Then he added facetiously, “You can see what a big influence an immigrant can have on the country.”

Rev. William Crawford of the Larchmont Avenue Church asked attendees how many had their food cooked, lawns trimmed, or walls built by immigrants. He said the wonderful new front steps of his church were built by immigrant workers. “Did we ask for their papers? No! These are people who contribute to our economy. We have to find a space for them to find work.”

Rev. Thomas Nicoll of St. John’s Episcopal Church said there had been too many raised voices dealing with the problem. It was time to lower the voices. He said the issue “does not have to be adversarial.” He pointed to the evolution of the hiring site in New Rochelle and the positive spirit in which it was received in the community. He added that a big obstacle occurs, “when emotion clouds judgment.”

Rabbi Jeffrey Sirkman of the Larchmont Temple said the handling of the day laborer issue will be a “test of who we are as a community and what we want to become.” It is a test of whether we look for a “legalistic solution or one that is loving, compassionate and not coercive. We have to respond to a higher standard.”

He said the local churches and synagogues have many resources and they are in a position to help and will help, “morally, socially and financially.”

Rev. Marvin Henk of St. John’s Lutheran Church said it was important to find a solution that will work for both sides and “not pull people apart.” He said there were many underlying problems to be solved, including poverty. “It will not be easy,” he said. “But we have to hang in there.”

Robin Nichinsky, chairman of the Tri-Municipal Human Rights Commission, said she was getting a feeling of “détente,” that the legal action did not have to go forward and that “Judge McMahon injected a voice of grace to all parties by calling them to the table.”

Liz Feld, mayor of Larchmont, said that until recently there had been “a lot of talking but not much listening." She said her board of trustees was listening and that they wanted to be part of the solution. She said the board was prepared to offer help, including financial and other assistance.

Rev. Deborah Tammearu of St. Thomas Episcopal Church said that the legal suit was an act of desperation by the day laborers, signaling “this is how far we will go --- no further.” But, she said, it was time, to find a way out. She picked up on Ms. Lvoff’s earlier statement on the need for the whole community to be involved. She looked around the room at the leaders of various organizations and said, “We can only do what the community will permit.”

This was reiterated by Westchester County Legislator Judy Myers who said, “”We all so badly need to talk and the Local Summit is a perfect place to have started this.” She said she had the feeling the community can and will come together.

The meeting ended with a variety of suggestions for programs of community discussion and education on immigration.

The Local Summit meetings are usually held at 7:45 am, on the third Tuesday of the month at the Nautilus Diner. Harold Wolfson is a member of the Local Summit and the Hispanic Resource Center.

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