Council approves expansion of day-laborer program; technical amendment set to $12,542

The Los Angeles City Council approved a staff recommendation to continue and expand the city's day-laborer site program, with a verbal technical amendment on the floor adjusting recommendation No. 2 to $12,542.

Councilmember Zine introduced the item and sought clarification about program performance and where sites are operating. John Chavez of the Community Development Department told the council that six sites were established and a seventh location was in development in Council District 10 at a Home Depot/Costco project. Chavez listed council districts hosting sites and said the city is exploring partnerships with large retail developers to provide program support and possible on-site funding.

Council members and staff described different local results: some day-labor sites had positive outcomes where a managing entity and active stakeholder meetings were in place; others had mixed results. Councilmember Reyes and others urged community stakeholder involvement, vendor/contractor accountability, and periodic meetings including LAPD and businesses to address localized problems and to ensure cleanliness and safety.

Councilmember Garcetti and others said the program required active management and neighborhood oversight; staff described examples of site management that included outreach, skills training and monitoring. The council approved the item; the clerk recorded 11 ayes on the roll call.

Implementation steps recorded on the floor included exploring private contributions from Home Depot and Costco developments to support local program operations, and the department's work to run future job fairs and coordinate enforcement and cleanup as needed.