The zone, an area on the outskirts of town, had been set up by city officials as an assembly point for immigrant day laborers seeking employment from local contractors. A quarter of Freehold’s population of 11,000 is Latino, mostly from Mexico—a 12 percent increase from 1990.

Last fall, city officials reversed themselves and announced that the workers would no longer be allowed to gather at the site each morning to seek work. Mayor Michael Wilson claimed that too many workers were coming to the site from areas outside of Freehold.

The workers responded with rallies and demonstrations that drew solidarity from others in the region. Support came from the National Day Laborers Organizing Network. From January to the end of April, the Second Baptist Church allowed the workers to assemble each day in its hall.

A class action lawsuit filed in December by the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund argued that the workers have a constitutional right to gather on public property to seek employment. The lawsuit also claimed that the town had “embarked on a deliberate and coordinated campaign to harass Latino day laborers.”

In early February the workers won a ruling from the Borough of Freehold that repealed a loitering ordinance and another law allowing people to be ticketed and fined at an “officer’s discretion,” both of which were used to target day laborers.

These victories are important steps in beating back the reactionary, anti-immigrant campaign waged not only by the city administration but also by PEOPLE (Pressing our Elected Officials to Protect our Living Environment), an organization set up by Michael LeVine, a former Freehold borough councilman.

Fifty workers and their supporters gathered at the “muster zone” April 3 for a rally to celebrate the victory. “In the name of the day laborers, thanks to all the organizations who supported us,” said José Rodolfo Peralta, a worker from Freehold.

“We won because we were not just individual voices but the union of the workers.”  
 
 
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