Protests shut down job centers

The protesters, who typically set up in front of the Glendale or Burbank day labor centers once or twice a weekend, have an effect on business, said day laborer Victor Romero. "When they see employers coming they stop them and they scare them away," Romero said. "They are only here for a little while, but while they are here they drive away a lot of people. If they were here all day we wouldn't have any work. "We just want them to at least stay outside the fence and leave us alone," he added.

The protesters have no right to actually enter the day labor center and disrupt business, said Glendale City Atty. Scott Howard.

But the fact that the Glendale property is owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and leased by the city complicates the enforcement of trespassing laws, he said, and he acknowledged that there are issues of the protesters' free speech rights that must be considered.

The Burbank center is leased from the city, said Roger Baker, a Burbank city planner. The arrangement makes matters more simple, he said.

"It's private property so (Catholic Charities representatives) have the authority to tell (the protesters) to go." Baker said. "They have a responsibility for worker safety."

Glendale is looking at developing guidelines for Catholic Charities to help keep the protesters out, Howard said.

But Silva of Save Our State said that since the land the Glendale center is located on is leased by the city, he and his supporters have a right to enter freely.

"California law says you cannot post a no-trespassing sign in a public access area, so I don't think they have a leg to stand on," he said. As for Saturday's disruption of business at the centers, even if it succeeded for just a few minutes, Silva was elated.

"We think we are taking the right approach here," he said.

"We are a group of people who are very frustrated with the total breakdown of our laws, and we are reacting to this. It is a very American thing to do."