"I don't think we should be supporting a day laborer camp," Burbank resident Gene Moffett said. "Why can't we just enforce loitering laws."
But Chris Newman, legal project director with the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, among a handful of people speaking in support of the center, argued that the center would benefit the city.
"Centers of this type strengthen the community and have brought positive results to municipalities," Newman said. "These centers provide an organized contractual process between employees and day laborers."
But opponents of the center such as Robin Hvidston, with the Federal Immigration Reform and Enforcement Coalition, likened it to a "modern-day slave market." She said her organization targets employers who take advantage of the workers who use them.
"By targeting employers we create a toxic environment and make it politically incorrect for them to continue their abuses against workers," Hvidston said.
The vote established a one-year agreement between the city and Catholic Charities.
The center will have two full-time site assistants and one part-time project coordinator. The salaries for the three employees use $69,000 of the estimated $94,000 annual budget.
The center will be open from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. seven days a week, and is required to have a 500-square foot shaded area and a 1,000-square foot uncovered outdoor area.
Home Depot will be pay the city the $94,000 that will be put toward the center's operation.
Catholic Charities was one of two organizations submitting proposals to operate the center.
The Home Depot store is also scheduled to open Thursday. Construction on the store began in June, more than a year after the City Council gave its approval.
