BUSINESS IMPACT IN PROTESTS IS MIXED.

Byline: BRAD A. GREENBERG Staff Writer

Day laborer Delmar Santes leaned against a fence outside a Woodland Hills 7-Eleven store Monday and waited for an employer to pull up.

Santes was one of only two men looking for work at the usually busy corner of Ventura Boulevard and Fallbrook Avenue.

``I have no money,'' the 27-year-old Van Nuys man said as he nursed his lunch, a 32-ounce Gatorade. ``I cannot afford to. Not today.''

On a day billed as a work and shopping boycott in support of illegal immigrants, there were signs across Southern California of the impact of the protest effort.

Traffic flowed more easily on less crowded freeways. Many buses were nearly empty. The movement of goods at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach slowed sharply.

While work and commerce went on normally in many parts of the region, it was a different story in areas with large Latino populations.

On Van Nuys Boulevard, windows were dark in discount stores, record and clothing shops and some restaurants.

``It's a lot of money. But this is the only day we are closing for any reason,'' said Garibaldi restaurant manager Betty Rios, who added that the eatery wanted to show support for its clientele despite losing about $1,000 in business.

With participation mixed in the ``Day Without Immigrants'' boycott, it was impossible to calculate the immediate economic impact.

L.A. port spokesman Art Wong said the work stoppage had no dramatic impact on operations, since cargo traffic was particularly heavy late last week and over the weekend.

And Kaiser Permanente, one of the San Fernando Valley's largest employers, with hospitals in Panorama City and Woodland Hills, reported no impact on its staff or services.

But for other businesses, the losses were already being calculated.

La Curacao, the Latino-theme department store that was only open to provide legal services, expected to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In Ventura County, Underwood Family Farm and Underwood Ranches had less than 10 percent of their normal work force but hoped to recover within a few weeks.

``There is going to be an impact,'' said Jack Kyser, chief economist at the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. ``My guess is a lot of it is going to fall, ironically, on the Latino community.''

That is because it was mostly Latinos who lost pay or closed their businesses Monday.

``For a lot of the retail establishment, a lost sale today is a lost sale,'' Kyser said.

While hundreds of thousands joined the call to show Americans how reliant the U.S. economy is on immigrant labor and consumerism, others were unable to miss a day of work.

Luis Hernandez, 28, shares a Canoga Park apartment with five fellow Guatemalan immigrants. He sends money back to his wife and two children.

He agreed with the cause of Monday's boycott, but he survives by a simple rule: ``I don't work, I don't eat.''

Many business owners are just as reliant on immigrant labor to put food on their tables.

``It's a wake-up call for the U.S.,'' said John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a Chicago-based workplace consulting firm.

He said Latinos are crucial to the American economy. The nation is nearly at full employment, with unemployment down to 4.7 percent, Challenger said, and removing 11 million Latino immigrants would cause ``deep problems'' for American companies.

Standing on Wilshire Boulevard near MacArthur Park, Stephanie Darcy, 31, of Beverly Hills held a sign that read, ``My business needs immigrants.''

``I wouldn't be able to be in business and make money without immigrants,'' she said of her construction company. ``Without them, I have no business. Everybody loses.''

But for many in the pickets' paths -- Wilshire through the Miracle Mile and Broadway downtown -- the marches were a nuisance.

``This is not right to close businesses, to affect other people's businesses,'' said Frank Thomas, co-owner of a job-placement firm on Wilshire, who estimated he would lose about $5,000 even though he kept his doors open.

Isaac Luna, president of the Pacoima Chamber of Commerce, didn't join in the protests. But he did close his radiator and muffler shop so his employees could. Many of the chamber's members shut down, too.

``I'll never put a price tag on America's freedom,'' Luna said.

Staff Writers Rachel Uranga and Angie Valencia-Martinez contributed to this report.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) The Vallarta Supermarket on Sherman Way in Canoga Park is closed for Monday's protests.

(2) At Ricardo's Barber Shop in Canoga Park, a sign announces the store will be closed for Monday's rallies.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer