Day laborers consider Portland center a success


Workers at Portland’s city-sponsored day labor center consider the project a success, despite there being no guarantee of jobs.

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Workers at Portland’s city-sponsored day labor center consider the project a success, despite there being no guarantee of jobs.

Every morning, 50 to 100 — sometimes up to 120 — workers gather at the site at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, just south of the Oregon Convention Center.

At 7:30 a.m., they put their names into a lottery, which determines who gets jobs as employers roll in. Some days dozens are hired, other days just a handful. They usually earn between $10 and $11 an hour.

Either way, the workers declare the center a success, saying it is a far better alternative to the chaos that reigned at street corners before the work center opened.

Read more at The Portland Tribune.

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