|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
For more than a decade, Gwen Smith has volunteered at the Day Worker Center of Mountain View, a local nonprofit that offers a wide variety of support services for day laborers. Smith helps serve meals at the center on Saturdays and teaches English as a second language to Spanish speakers.
Less visible but just as impactful is the work that occurs off site. Smith regularly hires day laborers from the center to complete a wide variety of jobs at her home.
“It’s been nice to be able to give employment to people who have a hard time getting employment,” Smith said.
The Day Worker Center directly connects laborers with employers, with the aim of setting up a fair and transparent exchange of services. The workers collectively determine the hourly rate of their services and reach an agreement with employers who hire and pay them directly.
According to Smith, the process of hiring a day worker is straightforward. She submits an online request for a specific task and then is matched with a worker registered at the center. Smith typically hires workers for gardening and house cleaning jobs.
“It’s a way to give back,” Smith said, adding that she sees the arrangement as mutually beneficial.
Since 1996, the Day Worker Center has matched thousands of laborers with employers. But it has gotten more challenging in recent years, especially after the pandemic, according to María Marroquín, the nonprofit’s executive director.
Previously, employers would come to the center where large numbers of workers would congregate. Now the hiring is done online, creating fewer touchpoints, Marroquín said. A lot of employers also have moved out of Mountain View, making it more difficult for workers to find jobs.
The current political climate, including heightened immigration enforcement activities, also has been challenging for workers, many of whom are feeling more isolated and stressed, Marroquín said.
To adapt to changing circumstances, the center is focusing more on community building efforts, including job skills training where collaboration is key.
“We’re trying to use this as a tool for the workers to get more jobs in different ways,” Marroquín said, referring specifically to construction work. “Also, just to create more community building, that is very important.”
The center is focused on helping workers stay up-to-date on new technologies too, including sustainability efforts. It recently implemented a landscape training and electric tool lending program that promotes clean energy.
Employers can hire workers who use the electric tools at no extra charge, provided that they are hired for at least four hours, Marroquín said. The tools include electric lawnmowers, leaf blowers, hedge trimmers and chainsaws.
“I’m very proud of this program, because it’s kind of a win-win,” Marroquín said. “Employers win, the workers get some money for their work and also the environment gets a lot of relief.”
Service days also are a part of the Day Worker Center activities, according to Smith. It’s not uncommon to see the workers picking up garbage, offering support for the elderly or helping out with community gardens.
“They’re active,” Smith said. “They do give back themselves as an organization, and it’s marvelous to see.”
The Day Worker Center is a recipient of the Mountain View Voice holiday fund. Each year, donations to the Holiday Fund are divided equally among a group of local nonprofits that serve people in need. The Voice and Embarcadero Media Foundation, the nonprofit that now publishes the Voice, absorb all administrative costs to run the fund, and all donations are tax-deductible.
For more information about the Holiday Fund, go to mv-voice.com/holiday-fund. To give a donation online, go to embarcaderomediafoundation.org/holiday-fund/mountain-view. Checks can be made payable to Mountain View Voice Holiday Fund and sent to 2345 Yale St., FL 1, Palo Alto, CA 94306. The Holiday Fund campaign will run through mid-January, with grants awarded in the spring.
Startup founder jailed in ‘wild scene’ at winery allowed to exercise $1M in stock optionsJanuary 6, 2026 10:53 am