By Linda Taaffe

The opening of a temporary worker center at Calvary Church in Mountain View May 1 provided local day laborers their first opportunity to move off the street since St. Joseph the Worker Center in Los Altos closed six months ago.

“It opened at a good time,” said volunteer Job Lopez, pointing to last week’s gray, foreboding sky.

About 45 workers waited for employers at tables lined up inside the multipurpose room alongside the church at Escuela and California avenues. The center can accommodate 50 workers.

About 30 workers remained on the sidewalk along El Camino Real in Los Altos waiting for employers to stop.

Three employers had stopped by the center to hire workers by 9 a.m. - two from Los Altos, one from Mountain View.

“So far so good,” Lopez said. No employers had stopped along El Camino during the hour he was there trying to convince the laborers to solicit work from the center, he said.

A city law prohibits employers from hiring workers along the street in Los Altos while in a vehicle, though workers are challenging the ordinance in federal court.

“It’s their own choice,” Lopez said. “We can’t make them come to the center. All we can do is give them information.”

Lopez said volunteers have seen the number of day laborers drop about 25 percent in recent months due to the sluggish economy and Los Altos’ ordinance.

The center provides a safe place to match potential employers with workers, said director Maria Marroquin. It keeps work files on employees and employers. This allows center staff to match an employee’s skills with an employer’s needs. It also provides a record for the center to verify whether employees and employers are following through on their work agreements.

“On the street, we have no control. Sometimes employees don’t get paid. The employer says he will pay them tomorrow for more work and never comes back,” Lopez said.

The Mountain View City Council gave St. Vincent de Paul the go-ahead to set up a temporary center in the site’s multipurpose room until the city can secure a permanent center elsewhere, said John Rinaldi, a Mountain View resident and volunteer attorney with the day workers, who helped negotiate the deal.

The center is located in the multipurpose room of Calvary Assembly of God church at 1880 California Ave., Mountain View. It will be open 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays.

Donations designated for “the new worker center” may be sent to St. Vincent de Paul at 2040 South Seventh St., San Jose 95112. Employers may call in advance to arrange for workers at 938-1298.