Advocates call for removal of machines and demand that company speak out against ICE raids in parking lots
A Home Depot in Los Angeles installed three high pitch noise-emitting machines outside to deter day laborers from seeking work there, causing them to suffer headaches and nausea, advocates alleged at a press conference on Wednesday.
The Instituto de Educacion Popular del Sur de California (IDEPSCA), an advocacy organization that helps day laborers, called for the removal of these machines from Home Depot’s Cypress Park location, according to the Los Angeles Times
Advocates for day laborers also demanded that Home Depot speak out against ICE raids in store parking lots. Immigration enforcement agents have repeatedly targeted the Cypress Park location, which is located near one of IDEPSCA’s support hubs, the Times reported.
I don’t understand. If they want people to stop seeking temp jobs there, wouldn’t just always turning people away when they ask for day labor work? (And maybe put up a sign that says “we’ll never give you day labor”.) And given that they’ve gone to the length of installing machines, surely they already do always turn people away, in which case why are people braving the noise machines to wait to be turned away?
Is this people hoping that Home Depot customers will hire them for a day job for like… assistance with building a deck or whatever? The article makes it sound like they’re asking the Home Depot itself for work, though.
Whatever the case, Home Depot is clearly bigoted assholes who are willing to be assholes to their customers so long as they can also be assholes to latinx folks, but I don’t get quite what their motive here is, nor how they expect these machines accomplish whatever they’re hoping.
Literally the day laborers are waiting for a customer to hire them. (Usually a contractor or whatever needs extra hands)
For customers to hire them. Yeah, ok. That makes more sense. I mean, in the same way hostile architecture makes sense, but at least now I understand what they’re trying to accomplish and how the machines further their fucked-up goals.
Imagine you want several trenches dug. You could spend all weekend doing back breaking work. Or drive down and grab a load of day labor guys and spend a few hundred dollars to be done by lunch.
Customers to hire them. This is so common that the writers assume everyone knows.