Brooklyn-based nonprofit Construction Workers United (CWU) promotes safe working conditions and fair pay for day laborers and low-wage immigrant workers across New York City. Through a hiring hall that allows workers to set their own rates, CWU connects homeowners and businesses directly with construction workers while helping laborers secure more stable employment.
Before finding CWU, 43-year-old Sunset Park resident Braulio Rosaliano searched for construction jobs on the corner of 67th Street and Fifth Avenue. Like many day laborers, he often spent hours waiting for employers who frequently offered only a single day of work for low pay.
“Sometimes you'll get to go with them, sometimes you won't,” said Rosaliano through a translator. “The problem is sometimes they'll pay you, sometimes they won't.”
Rosaliano recalled workers waiting weeks or even months to be paid. He also remembers passersby calling the police on day laborers gathered on street corners looking for work.
He discovered CWU through an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) training course. Since joining the hiring hall, he has worked consistently as a handyman at a school for more than two months.
CWU operates under the Workers’ Justice Project, which was founded in 2010. The organization also supports cleaning staff and delivery drivers through Liberty Cleaners and Los Deliveristas Unidos.
Since July 2026, CWU has dispatched workers to more than 500 jobs, where members earned a combined estimated total of $253,000, according to Employment Specialist Eduardo Garcia and CWU Director Armary Perez.
In addition to establishing minimum pay rates, members negotiated an eight-hour maximum workday. CWU aims to equip construction workers with the tools to advocate for themselves and safer labor practices. Workers pay no membership fees and keep 100% of their earnings. Members also complete 40 hours of OSHA training.
At monthly meetings, workers discuss challenges in the construction industry, organize rallies and collectively set wage rates.
Antelmo Ventura, another hiring hall member, has been involved with CWU for five years. Through the organization, Ventura has taken classes on communicating with employers and distributes flyers to raise awareness about the hiring hall.
“There are always opportunities to learn in the center,” Ventura told BK Reader through a translator. “Painting, going up a scaffold, harness safety. There’s always a new course you could learn.”
On the few occasions Ventura was paid late, CWU intervened and secured payment from employers. Like Rosaliano, Ventura previously searched for jobs on day laborer corners near his Bay Ridge neighborhood.
“I feel like I have support, I have a backing,” said Ventura. “Even if I lost my job, I feel [CWU] would be there to help me find another one.”
CWU’s impact extends beyond its members. During January snowstorms, volunteer crews from the organization were dispatched across South Slope to shovel snow for disabled residents.
Garcia recalled one especially meaningful moment when volunteers encountered a young mother carrying a shovel in one hand while pushing a stroller with the other. The group immediately stepped in to clear a path for her.
“That was a very powerful moment,” said Garcia. “Our members saw the impact of their service to the community immediately.”
While CWU has strengthened connections between workers and the community, organizers say there is still more work ahead. Rosaliano regularly participates in rallies and supports the organization’s campaign for a $30-an-hour minimum wage. Ventura hopes more workers and residents will learn about the center and support its mission.
“For immigrants in the city, it’s a really important place to come and be part of,” said Ventura.
Individuals or businesses looking to employ a CWU member can fill out a request form or visit the website for more information.
