Editorial Editorial (February 11, 2005)

Day worker feud needs to end

The foolish and long-running turf war between two factions over who will speak for Mountain View's beleaguered day worker community continues to fester, despite months of negotiations to resolve a tug-of-war over a $52,000 grant previously awarded to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

Before last September, the Society operated the Day Worker Center under a lease with the Calvary Church on Escuela Avenue. But on Sept. 13, Society official Steve Pehanich fired the center's manager, setting off a dispute that continues to split the workers.

One side, with the help of Calvary's Pastor Jim Stringer and local attorney John Rinaldi, rehired the manager and continues to operate the center at the church, serving a large majority of the day workers. In addition, this group has been in ongoing talks with the Society to resolve the dispute, and in particular, decide which of the two will oversee a $52,000 Peninsula Community Foundation grant for day workers issued to the Society last August. Other funds, like a $60,000 lawsuit settlement from Los Altos for day workers, also are part of the discussion. Unfortunately, no agreement was reached, and the talks were terminated by Pehanich and the Society just a few weeks ago.

But while the Society now has possession of the grant monies, it appears to represent only a fraction of the city's day worker population. Between the split and the announced resignation of Pehanich, it appears questionable whether St. Vincent de Paul will win the right to keep the grant during an audit this month.

Certainly Mountain View is in debt to the Society for coming to the rescue of the day workers when the center was without a home three years ago. But times and circumstances are different now. The only workers represented by the Society are a rump group that refuses to sign up and wait their turn for legitimate job calls. Instead, the group works outside the process, hanging around near the center on adjoining private property, hoping to be hired off the street but also aiming to antagonize those inside.

Despite its past efforts, the Society has lost much of its credibility in this feud. An upcoming mid-year report, due later this month, will have a significant effect on the Peninsula Community Foundation's decision about the future of the grant. That report should include a recommendation that the funds be transferred to the worker center led by Rinaldi and Pastor Stringer. We hope the foundation can conduct its due diligence quickly, so the funds can be freed up to be used as they were intended -- to provide the workers the help they need to find decent-paying jobs, if only for a day.

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