'It means survival': San Francisco program protects vulnerable day laborers and domestic workers

Helping day laborers is non-profit's mission

Hundreds of immigrants credit a Bay Area organization with helping them build a future. Dolores Street Community Services of San Francisco has been providing safe jobs with competitive wages to day laborers for more than 30 years.

SAN FRANCISCO - A grassroots nonprofit in San Francisco has been working to help hundreds of immigrants find work and build a better future.

Day laborers gather on street corners near lumberyards and moving companies looking for work, and when opportunity knocks there are no guarantees.

"Out on the corner without this program they would be vulnerable to people saying, Oh yeah I’ll pay you. I’ll pay you, and if you come and bother me again I will call immigration," Francisco Herrera explained.

Herrera is the Co-Director of San Francisco’s Day Labor Program. The program has been helping immigrants for 31 years. It's part of Dolores Street Community Services which handles everything from housing to immigrant rights.

The non-profit has long provided steady safe work at a competitive wage and peace of mind for visa workers.

Herrera said it was saving lives. "It means survival. It means thriving because you know you are going to get paid for that work while helping the community. It also helps support ownership of a trade and helps to create a sense of responsibility and increased self-esteem," the director explained.

Marcus Saul Aurora Gonzalez, 42, was living proof. "I got shot here, and here, and here," he shared, explaining that he was shot eight times before leaving his native El Salvador for the U.S. in 2007.

He's currently supporting a family of four in the Day Labor Program that is now 180 men strong.

"The program is very important for me." Gonzalez said. "It has helped me develop as a laborer in my trade. It’s helped with other issues like immigration and social services. It’s allowed me to have access to a dignified job and be able to provide for my family," he shared.

In 2000, Guillermina Castellanos co-founded the Women’s Collective which employs more than 120 domestic workers.

"For me, it’s my life because I have been a domestic worker since I was 5 years old," Castellanos explained.

The mother of nine and grandmother of 15 has been a staunch fighter for labor rights and helped establish the National Worker’s Alliance while devoting her life to giving Latin immigrants clarity, opportunity and a livable wage.

"When I founded the Women’s Collective I opened my eyes, my ears and my soul!" she said.

Lourdes Dobarganes has been a member of the Women’s Collective, also a part of Dolores Street Community Services.

She's also a driving force behind Senate Bill 321 which established an advisory committee to provide recommendations to protect domestic workers and day laborers under Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards.

She said the Women’s Collective has been like a resurrection for her. She still remembered her very first job through the collective.

"When I got paid 90 dollars I called my daughters. I said, ‘I have a job! I got 90 dollars!' It felt very good for me," an emotional Dobarganes shared, adding, "And now I feel stronger, and I can do anything."

The Day Labor and Women’s Collective have proven to be vital to a healthy San Francisco, as they have played an integral role in building character and community while providing a safer working environment.