Along with declaring the local “muster zone” off limits at the beginning of the year, local officials have used the two practices as part of a campaign to harass Latino workers and their families. Last year’s decision to close the zone sparked protests by the day laborers and their supporters.

Established four years ago by borough officials eager to move day laborers out of the town center, the zone became an important assembly point for the workers as they sought jobs from construction contractors.

Since January 1, the workers, most of whom are immigrants from Mexico and other Latin American countries, have been gathering at a hall in the Second Baptist Church offered until the end of March by Rev. Andre McGuire. More than a quarter of Freehold’s population of 11,000 people is Latino—up from 12 percent in 1990.

The February 2 decision was in response to a lawsuit filed on behalf of six day laborers against the closure of the zone. A February 6 hearing on the suit—launched by the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF)—was postponed at the request of borough officials.

Workers told Militant reporters that while they regard the repeal of the loitering and “officer’s discretion” measures as a victory, the fight is not over. In particular, the muster zone remains closed.

Cesar Perales, executive director of PRLDEF, said in a February 14 phone interview that “the agreement by the borough to stop issuing tickets for ‘officer’s discretion’ doesn’t stop other forms of police harassment.”

As part of its campaign against the workers, Freehold implemented a “quality of life” enforcement program in June 2003. Additional police were hired to enforce rarely used laws on littering, overcrowding, housing code violations, and abandoned vehicles. According to Freehold mayor Michael Wilson, a special court session to deal exclusively with these charges had netted some $127,000 from fines and penalties by early October 2003.

Also part of the anti-immigrant campaign is an organization called PEOPLE (Pressing our Elected Officials to Protect our Living Environment), launched by Michael LeVine, a former Freehold borough councilman. LeVine modeled PEOPLE on Sachem Quality of Life, a rightist group that has waged an aggressive campaign against immigrant workers in Long Island, New York.

Workers, meanwhile, are organizing to improve their conditions of work. According to Alejandro Abarca, one of the day laborers and a leader of the Workers Committee for Progress and Social Benefits, they decided to insist on a basic hourly rate of $10 from the contractors. Workers with specific skills get $14. Each job, Abarca said, must include a guarantee of at least five hours’ work.

The day laborers monitor this system themselves. One of them greets the contractors, finds out their labor needs, and explains the pay scale. He then calls into the center where the next workers on the rotating list are offered the jobs. The workers are also organizing English classes and classes on health and safety at the center. “These are open to all Latino workers and their families, not just the day laborers,” Abarca said.

The workers have spoken to meetings of the National Day Laborers Network, the Monmouth Country Residents for Immigrant Rights, and the Newark Militant Labor Forum to win support for their fight.

On January 31 they participated in a teach-in titled “The War at Home and the War Abroad” sponsored by the New Jersey Civil Rights Defense Committee.

The Second Baptist Church has set up a fund for the workers. Checks should be made out to “I Beseech Thee/ Labor Program” and mailed to the Second Baptist Church, 133 Throckmorton St., Freehold, NJ 07728. For more information, call (732) 492-3317.  
 
 
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