Popular Education

"No one educates anyone, and nobody is self educated; all of us learn from each other, mediated by the world we live in."

Paulo Freire

Day Labor Program

Currently, IDEPSCA operates four Day Laborers Community Job Centers: Hollywood, Downtown-Fashion District, Harbor City, and Cypress Park.

The Day Laborer Community Job Centers provide a humane way to look for work and offer a learning environment through literacy, English classes and information about health, labor and immigrant laws. These centers also function as a public safety alternative to soliciting employment on the street corners and suffering from severe exploitation and unsafe working conditions.

Due to supply and demand paradigm, the day laborers are forced to compete with each other promoting employers to take advantage and ending in paying day laborers and domestic workers according to a mutual agreement. At IDEPSCA community job centers, the workers have established their own minimum wage which varies at every center. Although the minimum wage in Los Angeles City and County has risen to $10.50 as of July 1, 2016, we understand that a majority of the work that day laborers and domestic workers do is hard, potentially challenging, and varies depending on area and community. Therefore, it is important to keep this in mind when negotiating wages with the workers and the community job center site managers.

How we work
The Day Laborer Program provides honest, organized, and respectful workers to do the job that may be required from an employer. The employer may call ahead or request a worker in person. Each center follows a registration system to distribute the jobs, but the employer is free to choose a worker in particular. IDEPSCA centers do not charge any fees to the employers or the workers.

Locations

Cypress Park Community Job Center
2055 North Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, CA 90065
Ph: (323) 223-2021
Hours of Operation
The hours are 6:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Tuesday through
Saturday.

Hollywood Community Job Center
5669 W. De Longpre Avenue
Hollywood, CA 90028
Ph: (323) 469-9002
The hours are 6:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Tuesday through
Saturday.

Harbor City Day Laborer Site
1301 N. Figueroa Place
Wilmington, CA 90744
Ph: (310) 663-1103
The hours are 6:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Tuesday through
Saturday.

Downtown Community Job Center
121 E. Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90015
Ph: (213) 747-2064
The hours are 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through
Friday.

If you need a worker for Sunday you may call
ahead to make arrangements during our business hours.

Type of Skills/ Jobs:
• Carpenters- Flooring, Framing and Furniture
• Landscaping- Gardening and Bush Clearance, Piling, Planting, Trimming, and Sprinklers
• Plumber- Piping, Digging
• Painting- Exterior and Interior
• Moving- Loading and Unloading
• Masonry- Demolition, Drywall, Plastering, Roofing, Tile, Cement
• Janitorial- Clean ups
• Car Related Mechanic, Car Wash, Waxing, Polish and Body Shop
• Electricians
• Handyman
• House Cleaning
• General Labor

Get Involved!

Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteering with the Day Laborer Program connects you with hundreds of workers from different cultural backgrounds. It provides an interactive way to understand and engage with the day laborer phenomenon through our Popular Education Methodology. We offer rewarding opportunities at the different Community Job Centers and in the organized corners. In all cases, training is provided to ensure that your volunteer experience is both enjoyable and fruitful.

Labor and Civil Rights
Workers cannot defend their rights if they ignore such rights. Our volunteers prepare workshops and materials to inform and educate workers about their labor and civil rights.

ESL Classes
A large number of workers are not English speakers. ESL classes are one of the most crucial needs at the centers. Our volunteers develop curriculums that are specifically designed to prepare workers for conversations and writing skills needed in the workplace.

Special Events
Our volunteers help us organize and host memorable special events, including:
Center’s Anniversary Celebrations, Fundraisers, Cultural Celebrations, and Sports Events.

Special Projects
Bring new exciting projects to the Day Laborer Community Job Centers. Through the hard work and dedication of many volunteers we have been able to organize different special projects to promote the life and work of day laborers and household workers in Los Angeles and Pasadena such as: photographic exhibits, day laborer art exhibits, talent shows, theater, and film.