In an article that appeared last Sunday, N.Y. Times reporter, Steven Greenhouse reported the results of the first national study on day laborers. The study established that day laborers and day labor centers are not only local or regional in scope, but a national phenomenon with 117,600 day laborers gathering at over 500 centers.The study also reported on an aspect of the immigration and day labor issue which is often overlooked, i.e., wage violations and hazardous working conditions. 49% of workers interviewed complained that during the previous two months an employer had not paid them for one or two days of work. 73% of the workers were forced to work in dangerous working conditions. On a daily basis, in Mesa and throughout the State of Arizona, everyone from major contractors to housewives stop and pick up day laborers who line such intersections as Broadway and Gilbert Rd. It is not unreasonable to suggest that these laborers are also being subjected to the above described abuses. Yet, neither the state legislature nor thr Mesa City Council, as a whole, have expressed concern regarding the pernicious conduct of employers which violate state and federal wage and safety laws. The laborers do not report such violations for fear of being fired or denied their wages.In light of the inaction of governmental authorities, the establishment of a privately operated day labor center, where both the employers and the laborers register, would provide the best protection against such abuses
