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LA fires spur economic hardship for migrant workers
LA fires spur economic hardship for migrant workers
The wildfires that ravaged through the greater Los Angeles area changed lives, as homes and precious memories went up in smoke. For many immigrants in the community, the fires also dealt a unique economic challenge.
Cesar is a day laborer who occasionally finds work through the Pasadena Community Job Center, a local organization that supports migrant day laborers. Marketplace agreed to withhold Cesar’s last name due to privacy reasons.
Cesar didn’t lose his house, but the fires did upend his profession — several of his employers lost their homes, leaving Cesar without stable work.
Despite the backdrop of economic hardship and anti-immigration rhetoric and policies, Cesar, along with other day laborers and community volunteers, worked with the Pasadena Community Job Center to help clean up debris outside the Eaton Fire evacuation zone.
“Since I am part of the community, I feel obliged to help the people who previously gave me work,” Cesar told Marketplace in Spanish.
The Pasadena Community Job Center, which is run by the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), says its volunteers logged around 30,000 hours of work clearing debris and sorting fire relief supplies.
Now, the organization is working to help day laborers get authorized through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which could help them find more steady work as a result of the fires.
As for Cesar, he has received OSHA authorization and is on the hunt for a reliable job, as is his wife, who works as a house cleaner.
“It is a little difficult. My wife also cleaned houses, and some of her employers’ houses were affected. Currently, she only has one house left to clean,” he told Marketplace.
To hear more about how the LA fires have affected Cesar’s personal economy, click the audio player above.
Marketplace’s Juan Carlos Torrado voiced the English interpretation and assisted with translation. Marketplace’s Ariana Rosas and Manuel Vicente from the National Day Laborers Organizing Network helped with interpretation and translation.
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