Labor exploited at Foss park
By George P. Hassett

Each morning dozens of laborers looking for work gather on the Broadway side of Foss Park. They stand across the street in the handicap spaces of the Dunkin’ Donuts parking lot, and recently, have moved to Bailey Rd. in Winter Hill. Some mornings, the laborers race across the hazardous intersections surrounding the park, chasing the contractors with the biggest jobs.

  Ward 1 Alderman William Roche said this week the cluster of workers and contractors who meet each morning in East Somerville are hurting the city‚Äôs image and he fears angry union workers will come to the park for a ‚Äúbattle.‚Äù
  ‚ÄúIf this happened in Davis Square it would not be tolerated, but in East Somerville it is okay,‚Äù he said. ‚ÄúThe workers there are not at fault it is the contractors who pick them up.‚Äù
  Roche said he regularly receives calls from a representative of a painter‚Äôs union who said members of the union are angry that contractors are using day laborers, who typically make $6 or $7 per hour, as opposed to the union wage of $25 an hour. 
  ‚ÄúThis could turn disastrous,‚Äù Roche said. He said he feared a violent confrontation between union representatives and day laborers one morning in Foss Park.
  Alderman-at-Large Denise Provost said the problem was ‚Äúsnowballing and intensifying‚Äù and that contractors were likely avoiding paying the workers the prevailing minimum wage laws.
  ‚ÄúThese contractors are using the city to improperly take advantage of laborers. What if one of these workers gets injured?‚Äù said Alderman-at-Large William A. White.
  Thursday, Roche put in an order at the Board of Aldermen meeting that asked Acting Police Chief Robert R. Bradley to forward a plan to aldermen about what could be done to disperse the crowds.
Police spokesperson Capt. Paul Upton said Bradley has met with other officers to discuss possible solutions, but will take his time before forming a specific plan.
  ‚ÄúThere is no individual in imminent danger. We‚Äôre going to take our time and work with other departments like the Multicultural Council to solve this problem. It‚Äôs a sensitive issue and we want to do it right,‚Äù Upton said.
  Director of Multicultural Affairs Aru Manrique said the daily assemblies are adding to an already precarious area for pedestrians and drivers.
  ‚ÄúThe intersection around Foss Park is one of the most dangerous intersections in all of Massachusetts. It‚Äôs just not safe to have laborers and contractors chasing after each other every day through that intersection,‚Äù he said. ‚ÄúBut everybody‚Äôs civil rights have to be respected. We can‚Äôt assume people with dark skin standing at Foss Park are there looking for work. If I stood at Foss Park just enjoying the morning and my city and someone told me I needed to move, I would be up in arms.‚Äù
  Manrique said a solution will come when diverse people and groups come together to find common ground.
  ‚ÄúThis is a hot issue right now. People feel like they must be on one side or the other. That‚Äôs unfortunate because in the middle is where the real solutions come. This can‚Äôt be an us against them thing, because we all live here and we all want what is best for the city,‚Äù he said.