
MALIBU COMMUNITY LABOR EXCHANGE – what to know and how to help
What is the Malibu Community Labor Exchange?
“[Malibu Community Labor Exchange] is a place where people can meet to gain employment as a day laborer in the community. We’re given this space by the county. Its biggest financial supporter is the City of Malibu,” Richard Erkes, an executive board member of MCLE told The Malibu Times. “Oscar [Mondragon] has been doing this for 20 years with a total budget of $70K. He is the only paid employee. This is a totally volunteer organization other than [executive director] Oscar [Mondragon].”
Erkes said board members and volunteers try to provide people who come to the exchange with tools to help them. Demand chronically outpaces supply, he said.
“We provide donated computers. Computer classes and English as a Second Language classes are taught by volunteers,” Erkes said. “We get donations from the community, and we’d like to get a lot more support – whatever people can do to pitch in with food, time, supplies and funds. Oscar makes this place go, and we’d like to expand our services.”
What services are available?
“Some workers have specialized skills like carpenter or electrician, but most of the work is basic manual labor, like brush clearance for men and domestic help for women,” Erkes said. “We select the workers for a job by a lottery system unless the employer wants to choose.” The center’s brochure also lists construction, landscaping, lawn care, masonry, day care, elder care, tech support and language learning as other skills workers can provide.
Approximately 50 people come to the labor center each day looking for work, and sometimes as many as 80. Mondragon said that lately, “We’ve been very lucky, and we’ve gotten about 15 jobs a day.” Some workers have recently learned to use the on-site computers to look for jobs on Craigslist and other websites, Mondragon said: “We’ve had some real success stories.”
How much are workers paid?
The amount of money that workers get paid on a job is strictly between the worker and the employer.
“We’re here to facilitate, not dictate,” Mondragon said.
What services besides jobs does the exchange provide?
“The labor exchange is a community organization. The board members represent a cross-section of the community. We exist for the betterment of the community,” Executive Director Al Sturgeon said. “In the past, when we had fires, people in need came here to get workers. And whether someone is a transient or homeless, we try to be a warm and welcoming place to everybody.”
“We hope that what will come out of this [tragic incident in Venice] is to get more people involved with the labor exchange (a 501c(3) nonprofit organization), which provides opportunities for individuals to become independent and self-sufficient,” Erkes said. “We welcome visitors, and anyone who is interested can come by to see what’s going on (hours are 6:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Saturday). This is the major social service facility for the City of Malibu to deal with the homeless, etc. It’s a safe and organized place.”
For more information go to: www.malibulaborexchange.org