About SEEC
How the center operates
SEEC now operates exclusively from its office at the Arlington Mill Community Center, Suite 422.
The office has a sign-up sheet that workers fill-in upon arrival.
If a potential employer calls our office with simple tasks to be accomplished where no specific skills are 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.
SEEC’s services are free for both workers and employers, though voluntary donations are accepted
The Shirlington Employment And Education Centre (SEEC) was established in 2000 to help day laborer 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 was closed on December 31, 2020.
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!
Over the years, SEEC has obtained donations from local churches, foundations and from individuals to provide food and rental assistance to the day laborers during the fall and winter months. SEEC also offers two training programs for immigrant women. Classes are offered to teach women cleaning houses to utilize GREEN cleaning 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 also provides training for immigrant who want to start their own business.
Over the years, SEEC has received donations to provide food and rental assistance to day laborers during the winter months. The support has come from the Arlington Community Foundation, the Washington Forrest Foundations, and from Arlington Thrive.
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 numerous hours each day during the fall and winter months in the cold weather seeking employment.
The Need
Our Impacts
- Matches approximately 250 Day Laborers to 650 positions
- Provides workers to approximately 65 employers who rely on part-time and seasonal workers
- Distributes approximately 2,200 brown bag meals to address food insecurity in the Day Laborer community
- Provides Driver’s Education to enable Day Laborers to get their Viriginia Drivers’ Privilege Card.
- Provides basic computer literacy training and tablets to facilitate employment searches and online training
- Completes an average of referrals to the Arlington Free Clinic and the Arlington Food Assistance Center.
Our History
For years under- and unemployed Latino men congregated in south Arlington parking lots, particularly at the Weenie Beenie and along the WO&D trail waiting for contractors to offer them day employment. The surrounding communities had issues with congregating groups of men, as well as with the constant traffic caused by the contractor vehicles, and the litter. The congregating workers had no protection from the weather or access to toilet facilities or drinking water.
Responding to the specific need to get the workers off the street, a group of Latinos, African Americans, and community activists, working with Arlington County, formed SEEC. They quickly learned that Day Laborers need much more support than a safe meeting place. Day Laborers needed assistance in finding day jobs, food, and housing; as well as health care; job training; photo identification; drivers’ licenses; English language assistance; and protection from unfair and illegal labor practices.
SEEC Services
Construction work
Painting
Carpeting
Tiling
Yard work
Handy-man
Drywall
Plumbing
Electrician
Landscaping
Moving in/out
Etcetera
For the past twenty years SEEC staff has been assisting day laborers who have congregated in Shirlington to find temporary employment and for local residents to find temporary help. The location where the day laborers have been congregating, located at the corner of Shirlington Road and South 27th Street will be closed in September 2020. The SEEC Office which was located nearby has been relocated to the Arlington Mill Community Center, Suite 422. SEEC will continue to serve Arlington’s day laborers at the new location.
Employers and local residents seeking temporary help with small jobs for moving, general clean up, painting and landscape, should call the SEEC office for assistance at 703-933-1101.
Employment services
As a day laborer center, SEEC’s first priority is to provide free, walk-in employment services to Day Laborers and a safe place for Laborers to find work. Our employment services include matching employers and jobs to workers; providing extensive employment assistance and translation services and helping Laborers collect unpaid wages.
Job and Life Skills Training
SEEC provides free training and education tailored to the needs of the Day Laborers. SEEC’s programs include basic computer literacy skills, to provide Laborers with the ability to complete on-line job, service and school applications and courses; drivers’ education, to enable Laborers to obtain their Virginia driver’s certification, a necessity for many jobs; and courses in small business start-up to prepare entrepreneurially focused Laborers to launch their own small businesses.
Access to Social, Economic, and Legal Support
Working with our community partners, we provide seamless bilingual referral services for food and medical care; emergency eviction prevention funds; food through our winter hot meal program and year-round brown bag program; and legal support through referrals to Legal Aid, to assist with wage issues, and our weekend clinic to assist with immigration and work issues. There is never any charge for SEEC’s services
General guidelines for payment
For basic labor jobs, payment of $15 per hour with a four hour minimum is recommended. For more skilled jobs, $20 per jobs are recommended. It is also recommended that the workers be provided lunch if the work exceeds four hours. Please remember that these are not full time jobs. For most workers these jobs may be the only one they get for the day or the week, so please be generous.
Types of jobs
The work to be performed can vary from construction work to yard work and handy-man related jobs. If there is a need for work to be done, we will find a worker!
During this past fiscal year, the day laborers went out on a total of 2,133 jobs from the Pavilion and the SEEC office. Some of these jobs consisted of moving jobs, landscape and construction. Some of the jobs lasted a few hours, but many lasted several days, while a number of them became permanent hires.
