Day Labor Center Dispatcher (Organizer-in-Training)

Location: Pomona (headquarters) and various locations across the Inland Valley

Status: Full-Time, Non-Exempt

Reports to: Worker Rights Director

Salary: $23 per hour

Schedule: Must be on-site from 7am-2pm five days a week, including Saturdays and some Holidays*

Who We Are:

Pomona Economic Opportunity Center’s (PEOC) mission is to empower low-wage immigrant workers in Pomona and across the Inland Empire (IE) – Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. We work towards a vision of a more just, equitable, healthier, safer, and welcoming society for immigrants and low-wage workers where they are no longer invisible or silenced, have a positive relationship with formal institutions, and have a more effective voice with policymakers in a society where all people have ample opportunity to thrive. We further our values of dignity, accountability, and justice through our three areas of work: Worker Rights (WR), Immigrant Rights (IR), and Housing Justice (HJ).

About the Pomona DLC:

Since 1998, the Pomona Day Labor Center (DLC) has provided a safe place and second home for recent immigrants to access services, find employment opportunities, and learn new skills to improve their lives. We aim to provide our base of day laborers and household workers an opportunity to find safe work at a fair wage, obtain new trades/skills that improve their employability and quality of life, and organize/advocate for themselves regarding policies that directly impact their lives.

Position Summary:

The DLC Dispatcher Organizer-in-Training (OIT) supports the general operations of the DLC employment program, including job dispatching, answering phones, providing customer service to potential employers and community members inquiring about our services; marketing, outreach, and promotion to attract prospective members and employers; coordination of job skills training and other workforce development opportunities; day laborer leadership development; and, education and advocacy related to wage theft, workplace health and safety, and other important issues impacting the day laborer community.

The DL Center Dispatcher OIT is an entry-level position, part of our organizer training program, to learn the functions of a day labor center and how to develop the leadership of day laborers using one-on-one organizing.

• PEOC provides 13 paid holidays as a benefit each year. For any holiday that is recognized by PEOC, the employee will be paid a full day's work (8 hours for full-time employees). Since this position requires the employee to work during most paid holidays listed in PEOC’s employee handbook, they will be paid for hours worked on top of the paid holiday benefit. Please note that overtime rules only apply to actual hours worked, not paid holiday hours. The DLC is closed on July 4th, Thanksgiving, the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year's Day. The DLC Dispatcher will not need to be available for those days.

Job Responsibilities:

• Open and close the DLC, answer the phone, take messages, and direct them to the proper teammate
• Prepare and issue center identification cards for laborers and community members
• Support the DLC Coordinator in maintaining the employer and worker database
• Assist with any reasonable requests made by the WR Director
• Actively search for and dispatch workers to job opportunities
• Assist employers and day laborers in negotiating work agreements and promote fair working conditions and wages
• Assist in mediating and resolving conflicts between day laborers and employers
• Follow up with and implement agreements reached by the day laborers’ general assembly
• Maintain rules and standards of behavior for both day laborers and employers
• Ensure that the site is free of drugs, alcohol, and violence
• Document incidents, events, problems, and conflicts that occur on site
• Support the WR Team with base-building and developing a sense of community, belonging, and ownership at the DLC
• Conduct one-on-ones with day laborers from the DLC and assist the WR Organizing Team with outreach to the corners in Pomona and Inland Empire
• Support the WR Team in managing wage theft claims for day laborers in Pomona

Qualifications:

• Ability to collaborate and work effectively with people from a broad range of backgrounds
• Knowledge of and commitment to the day labor movement, immigrant rights, and social justice
• Knowledge of general construction and day labor jobs
• Strong communication, written and oral, and facilitation skills in English/Spanish
• Dedication and ability to work flexible, early morning hours, including Saturdays (may substitute chosen day of the week to work Saturdays)
• Basic knowledge of computer operations (Windows, Word, Excel, email, etc.) and office equipment such as copiers, fax machines and telephone
• Administrative and organizational skills necessary to carry out job description responsibilities
• Ability to deal with conflict resolution, including de-escalation and crisis management

Preferred Qualifications:

• Must have own transportation, a valid driver’s license and car insurance
• Community or labor organizing training and experience

Physical Demands:

Employees must be able to maneuver throughout the community in various locations of unknown accessibility and do phone or computer work for extended periods of time. They must also be able to lift and move paperwork and files up to twenty (20) pounds. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

Work Environment:

A modular building located next to the 71 Freeway serves as the office; street corners and parking lots where day laborers congregate, and neighborhood door-to-door knocking on occasion.

PEOC is an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants for employment will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, disability, military status, genetics, or any other basis protected by federal, state, or local laws.

Benefits:

• Health insurance coverage
• One (1) week paid vacation for the first two (2) years, then two (2) weeks vacation thereafter
• Paid holiday and sick days
• Two (2) week office closure for Winter Break

• Strong communication, written and oral, and facilitation skills in English/Spanish