The Shirlington Employment and Education Center (SEEC) was established in 2000 to help day laborers find employment. It started with a small office at the corner of South 27th Street and Nelson Street in Arlington’s Shirlington community. On October 2003, SEEC took oversight responsibility for the Pavilion located across the street from the Weenie Beenie. On March 1, 2020, the SEEC office was relocated to the Arlington Mill Community Center at 909 S. Dinwiddie Street, Suite 422, Arlington, VA 22204. The Pavilion that opened in 2003 is expected to close in the near future.
Day laborers at the Pavilion with SEEC staff
How the center operates
SEEC has had two locations from where workers can be picked up. The main office has a sign-up sheet that workers fill-in upon arrival. If a potential employer has simple tasks to be accomplished where no specific skillset is required, workers are selected by the order of appearance on the sign-up sheet. If workers with specific skills are needed, such as carpentry, masonry, framing, painting and drywall, SEEC can help match the appropriate worker to the employer if requested.
Note: SEEC cannot and does not guarantee work performed by workers, even if SEEC helped match a worker to an employer. It is the responsibility of the employer to oversee the work of the day laborer to ensure that the work is being performed satisfactorily.
Lunch being distributed to workers
More about SEEC
Since the beginning, SEEC's bilingual staff and volunteers have matched day laborers with employers who are in need of temporary labor. While most day laborers have limited skills, there are some with excellent skills for moving jobs, landscape and painting. Workers are expected to complete the tasks requested to the best of their ability and employers are expected to be fair and reasonable. The work to be performed can vary from minor construction work to yard work, domestic services to handy-man related jobs. If there is a need for a job to be done, SEEC can find a worker!
During the past several years, the day laborers have been hired for an average of 2,000 jobs annually from the Pavilion and the SEEC office. Some of the jobs lasted a few hours, but many lasted several days, while some of them became permanent.
Over the years, SEEC has obtained donations from local churches, foundations and from individuals to provide training for me in construction and a training program for immigrant women in utilizing GREEN products when cleaning homes in Northern Virginia. To date a total of 150 women completed the training and over 70% of them have found employment.
SEEC has received funding to provide rental assistance to day laborers during the winter months. The support has come from the Arlington Community Foundation, St. Mary's Episcopal Church and from Arlington Thrive. Another grant helped a group of volunteers teach day laborers how to prepare hot ethnic meals who often go hungry during the winter.
SEEC has enjoyed the support of several faith groups in Arlington, including Rock Spring Congressional United Church of Christ, Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church, St. Mary's Episcopal Church, St. Anthony's Catholic Church, Calloway United Methodist Church, and the Church of the Covenant, PCUSA. For almost ten years, bag lunches have been provided to the day laborers for a combined value of several thousand dollars each year.
SEEC has also received donations to purchase over 150 pairs of gloves and caps annually to give to the day laborers who stand outdoors for several hours each day during the fall and winter months in the cold weather seeking employment.