Congress of Day Laborers
United For A Just Reconstruction
The Congress of Day Laborers brings together Day Laborers and reconstruction workers from day labor corners across the Greater New Orleans area. Day Laborers are individuals who stand looking for work on street corners. Day laborers gather on numerous corners across New Orleans, these corners formed after Hurricane Katrina across a city that was destroyed after the levees were breached in the wake of Katrina.
Day laborers have done treacherous, often life-threatening work to rebuild New Orleans. They formed the Congress to fight for dignity and defend themselves against brutal exploitation at the hands of contractors, the police, and Immigration authorities. In the last three years the Congress has gained respect and power in New Orleans, fighting wage theft, gaining the recognition of city government, and building a sense of community for day laborers.
Echando Raices in New Orleans from Producciones Cimarrón on Vimeo.
Recognizing the importance of community service and participation, members of the Congress paint a mural of Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise” on a community center in Center City, New Orleans.
For news articles written about the Congress, click here.
