Photo by Monique Schoenfeld, Town Crier
Employer Mary Karr, left, discusses the kind of work she needs done with Caroline Navarro, right, a case manager at St. Joseph the Worker Center at Jordan Avenue and El Camino Real in Los Altos. The center has been operating since 1996 as an alternative to workers on street corners.
Town Crier Staff Writer
Mountain View resident Mary Karr called ahead to the St. Joseph the Worker Center, requesting someone to help with yard work, house repairs and some lifting - "stuff too heavy for me."
She headed home from the center about 9 a.m., Aug. 4, with a worker to help her with a day of chores.
Karr has used the center before, and would recommend it to a friend, "especially a woman alone. You can't afford to just pick somebody up off the street," she said.
Gina Gilbert also hires laborers from the center to help with the redevelopment of the play yard at the Los Altos Parent Preschool.
"I'd call, tell them what I need done," Gilbert said. "Then I'd just walk in" and pick up the workers. She's used the center 12 or 13 times, getting two to four workers each time.
"They'll do all sorts of work," said Gilbert, a Los Altos mom and member of the board at the preschool.
Gilbert has had workers "digging holes for plants, moving dirt. It's really difficult, hard work. I've recommended them to many people," she said.
The St. Joseph the Worker Center, located on El Camino Real in Los Altos, began in 1996 as a way to get workers, who were hanging around street corners looking for a job, off the streets. The center conducts English classes, and provides screening and some training. Workers are matched up with employers' specific needs, which can include hole digging, carpet and house cleaning and even child care.
"It's much better if employers come here," said Caroline Navarro, who staffed the front desk at St. Joseph the Worker Aug. 4. "At the center, employers are much more likely to find an experienced worker. Everyone on the streets wants to work," Navarro said, and will say they're experienced even when they're not. Then after the job, employers can be disappointed.
"It's more dignified here," Navarro said.
Elizabeth Fitting, executive director of the center, said employers may fax in a request or call ahead. The pay for a worker is $8-$10 per hour. That could be for gardening, she said. The rates go up as the skills increase. For moving, painting or construction, the rate is $12-$15 per hour. Most employers agreed that if the worker does well, they will pay more.
"These rates are set by the workers," Fitting said. She added that most employers provide lunch for their workers, but it's not required.
Workers don't need to show documents, nor do employers have to ask about them. "For casual labor, documents are not required," Fitting said.
For insurance, "We tell homeowners that most homeowner policies cover workers working on their property." She advises employers to check with their insurer.
For a construction project over $1,000, "go to a licensed contractor," Fitting recommended. "That's for the homeowner's own protection. If a job's not done right," then you'll have some recourse, she said.
The center exists "for protection on both sides. We send out evaluation forms and are getting constant feedback," Fitting said,
The Los Altos City Council recently passed an ordinance that will make it a violation to solicit work from the sidewalk. Police enforcement will begin Sept. 27, after a 60-day grace period to allow time for education. Officials said employers can help by using the center and not the sidewalks.
St. Joseph the Worker Center is located in Los Altos at 4898 El Camino Real, Suite 300. It is upstairs above the Big and Tall shop on the corner of El Camino Real and Jordan Avenue. For more information, call 962-1902.