Vendors throughout Los Angeles County claim that not only do they face the brutality of strangers who attack them for no reason, but now with the reopening of the state there have been several cases of police officers They take away their merchandise.
Julio Monterroso, a Guatemalan food vendor, recently recorded a video where authorities from the Department of Public Health (DPH) are seen throwing food away of street vendors.
“They got to throw away the food from about six or seven stalls,” said Monterroso who sells in the Westlake area. “They don’t say anything, they don’t identify themselves, they just start shooting. From there they went to MacArthur and the third time to continue shooting ”.
He added that the agents warned them that if they continue to see them on the street with their food products to sell, they will be fined $ 1, 000 and will have a criminal record.
“We We are hard-working people and what we earn is not much for them to throw away, ”said the Guatemalan vendor.
He indicated that he and his colleagues feel frustrated since the permission requested by the DPH does not exist.
“We have come to want to get the permit and they tell us that if it is for food there is not,” said the seller of 36 years. “We are willing to pay for an accessible food permit.”
Tired of this harassment and with the aim of making their voices heard, around A hundred vendors, including Monterroso, demonstrated in front of Los Angeles City Hall on Tuesday to call for a change in the laws.
Sergio Jiménez, organizer with the Community Power Collective (CPC ), said the most recent actions have been seen in the East Los Angeles areas, Glassell Park, Leimert Park and Olvera Plaza.
“Officials have to work and lobby the DPH to identify the appropriate steps to be able to make changes to the sanitation code; Without these changes, it will be impossible to see a prosperous future where street vendors will have the opportunity to succeed as independent micro-businesses, ”Jiménez said during the press conference on Tuesday.
Figures from CPCs indicate that less than 2% of the approximately 10, 000 Los Angeles County vendors have the food permit.
Lawsuits
Carla de la Paz, CPC director, said that sellers have Four lawsuits for the county and the city.
First, they want to stop the movement of street vendors from the well-known sales centers. Second, they ask to stop the use of armed agents from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) or the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office (LASD) during the vending review.
“There is no other business, there is no restaurant where the LAPD comes to do the food inspection,” said De la Paz.
The third demand is for the DPH to update the “outdated” food sales laws.
“The county keeps saying, ‘get your health permits and we will leave you alone’ but it is impossible for vendors to get their permits because they are not allowed to do so. ”
, those laws were written for restaurants and food trucks, and have not been updated to support street vendors. ”
@ lapublichealth is at it again! This time in Eaglerock. These are planned crack downs on # LAStreetVendors in a way we haven’t seen in a long time. People are struggling to get by and you’ve just thrown away a days worth of earnings & FOOD, while many go hungry on the streets! pic.twitter.com/kYHDjlPIhO
– Community Power Collective (@CPColectivo) June 19, 2021
And the last thing, he emphasizes, that they demand is a moratorium on the application of the law, until these problems are resolved.
The activists said that it is unfair to see the community of street vendors receive warnings of fines, evictions and that the investment of vendors of all ages and genders ends up in trash cans.
“There There’s the LAPD, there’s the BSS [Buró de Servicios de la Calle], there’s the Sheriff, DPH, and Metro law enforcement agencies, but there isn’t a single department that focuses on education or technical assistance to the vendor community ambulantes, ”Jiménez reaffirmed.
DPH tries to inform vendors
In response to the acu In addition, the DPH assured that its health inspectors often conduct educational activities with street vendors to inform them of state regulations; The goal is to offer them assistance with the permitting process.
Added that inspectors are authorized by the California Retail Food Code to confiscate food from vendors that appear to be unhealthy and not safe for public consumption.
The DPH added that many times, health inspectors have been threatened or intimidated, which is why law enforcement officers accompany them in their Visits to areas known for the sale of food not allowed.
Finally, he assured that they are working with the Department of Commercial and Consumer Affairs (DCBA) and a non-profit organization, in a pilot program to create food carts that comply with the requirements of the Low Cost Retail Food Code.