Like many Portlanders, JosĂ© de JesĂșs GonzĂĄlez lives paycheck to paycheck. But for GonzĂĄlez, thereâs never a guarantee of where that next paycheck will come from. Thatâs because heâs a day laborer, taking daily work as a landscaper, mover, cleaner, or construction worker.
And like many other industries, the day labor market in Portland is drying up due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
âWeâre just coming into the spring season,â GonzĂĄlez told the Mercury through a Spanish-English interpreter. âI was hoping that work would pick up, but it has not picked up because of the pandemic.â
GonzĂĄlez is the vice president of the day labor committee at Voz Workersâ Rights Education Project, a Portland organization that organizes and educates temporary day laborers. He said that the drop in work due to the coronavirus has had âa huge impactâ on him and his fellow workers.
âThe only way we earn a paycheck is if weâre working that day,â GonzĂĄlez said. âIf we donât work, we donât have any money.â
Voz is currently accepting donations for an emergency fund to help workers get by during the pandemic. Its members include houseless people, immigrants, and refugeesâpeople who might not be able to easily access unemployment pay and other social services. Another Voz leader, who asked the Mercury not to use her name due to privacy concerns, said that thereâs little existing safety net protecting day laborers who canât find work, or who need to stay home because of health concerns.
âWe donât have paid sick leave,â she said. âWeâre just working day-to-day with different employers, so we donât have any benefits.â
And when a day laborer in Portland has a difficult time scraping by, the economic hardship can be felt across borders.
âThe majority of our members are older men who are migrants, many of whom have been separated from their families,â said Genevieve RoudanĂ©, a lead organizer at Voz. âA lot of them are supporting their families back in their home countries with the money that they earn here. So any economic impact here has an impact in their home country.â
Voz is working with other labor groups in Portland to create a list of political demands for local officials during the pandemic. RoudanĂ© said their list will include a freeze on rent and mortgages âso that people arenât put out onto the street,â universal food access, and closing immigration detention centers because they can have âunhygienic conditions.â Voz is also working to find housing for its houseless members.
In the meantime, RoudanĂ© said Portlanders can help local day laborers by donating to its emergency fund, or hiring a worker through Vozâs Martin Luther King, Jr. Worker Center.
âWeâre asking the community⊠to give us the support we need to survive this,â GonzĂĄlez said.