Posted on 04/29/2006 10:08:17 AM PDT by LouAvul
BURBANK, Calif. (AP) - Chris James needed help moving a piano and three dozen boxes of records from his music studio - so instead of corralling some buddies, he rented a truck and hired some labor from outside the local Home Depot.
Within minutes, two Guatemalan men promised $12.50 an hour were in his truck.
If James, 31, worked solo "it would take all day."
The two men finished the job in an hour and a half while James looked on. For hauling a piano and wedging a sofa into his condo, then stacking the boxes in a back room, James owed the men less than $40.
It's the kind of scene replayed daily across the nation.
It was first time James hired day laborers, but it won't be his last.
"Absolutely satisfied," said James. "Relaxing."
The No. 1 employers of day laborers are private homeowners - not construction contractors, not professional landscapers.
"Day labor is not a niche market," said Abel Valenzuela, a UCLA professor and one of three authors of the first national day labor study, which was released in January. "It's now entering different aspects of the national mainstream economy."
Forty-nine percent of day labor employers are homeowners, according to 2,660 laborers interviewed for the study. Contractors were second, at 43 percent. The study also found that three quarters of day laborers were illegal immigrants and most were from Latin America.
There are myriad reasons homeowners hire the men who call themselves "jornaleros." They are a flexible labor pool with no red tape and no overhead. And they'll do backbreaking jobs much cheaper than traditional contractors.
Day laborers like homeowners, too.
Shady contractors routinely stiff them. Not homeowners -the workers know where they live.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.excite.com ...
Why do you think I didn't do the roof job? LOL
My neighbor did his roof last summer. He tried to save money by not paying for the shingles to be delivered "TO THE ROOF". His son-in-law damn near killed himself carrying the bundles up the ladder. But he saved a buck and a half a bundle.
Yep. The illegal supporters want to paint those opposed as racist, uncaring, etc., but what it boils down to is that they want a bottom class of people to service them.
Do the illegal's supporters want them here to become doctors, lawyers, engineers or any type of professional? No, they want the illegals here to be the bottom rung of society. It is an elitist mindset.
Although I did not check their information personally, I had what I'm pretty certain were illegals working at my house twice during the summer. One was a landscaping crew and another removed a fence. I'm in the Southeast and I will say these folks worked harder than ANY person I've EVER seen, (black or white). I hear it is a different story in California though.
James may think he only paid $40 - in reality, he's paid many times that in increased taxes, medical costs, and other expenses to support the "inexpensive" illegals.
I did roofing one summer in college. It was the worst, hardest work I'd ever done. Never again. Not only was the actual work itself back breaking, but the crews are populated by morons who were so stoned it's a wonder nobody was killed through their carelessness. Plus, the tar gets under your nails, in your hair, everywhere. Horrible stuff.
Has Walmart started carrying these cheap laborers yet?
It's worth checking around. In my town, a couple of charities and rescue missions have "day labor" programs to help those who have been down and out get back on their feet. Your work gets done, and you have the benefit of knowing you have helped others.
Finally, a job most Americans WON'T do. :)
I hire her about 3 times a year..NO ILLEGAL will ever set foot in this house to take her job, even if they charge me 10 bucks.
Hire American!
It goes on all the time here in Northern Virginia. The municipal goernment in Herndon even rented a center so they illegals could hang around it rather than the local 7/11. Each morning local businesses and home owners pick up these workers for the day as part of a rent a man operation. The numbers of illegals continue to rise in the DC area. Many are living 8 to 10 to a room in violation of local zoning and fire codes. Most come from El Salvador wihh Mexicans next in terms of numbers.
Sorry, but it isn't BS.
You need permits to install electrical work, add partitions to the basement, build a shed, or pour cement.
Cities have contacts with the trash people, so that if they see drywall, or electric wire, or cement bags in the trash, they report it to the city, and the inspectors pay the home owner a visit.
You may think you own your house, but you do not. You are only using it and paying for it at the whim of the taxing authority. They can take it away from you at any time .
There has to be a "comfort level" for those hiring the down and out. That means some type of screening by clergy or other professional. It also has to be organized and promoted in a way that doesn't offend any of the participants. That means the motto should be, "Help a Neighbor" and not "Hire a Bum."
Muleteam1
I've never had a problem hiring high school kids to chop weeds, cut grass, wash vehicles, help move things, and even help with home repairs. Hubby hires them to help with fencing, chopping wood and things like that too. I think many just think the kids won't want the jobs, too many buy into the mantra of "lazy American kids." I pay $10 an hour, and if the job is done quicker than I thought or it is an especially hot day or nasty work, I kick in a bonus at the end. I also serve sodas and food if they are working here at meal time. I have no idea what illegals would charge, and don't care. I would rather hire local kids.
All the kids that I have hired over the years have turned out well, a couple are serving in the Military, one is a diesel tech, a couple are in college. They stop by the house every once in a while just to visit. I had one young man that was a very hard worker and very polite and well mannered, he was always willing to do any job. I'm glad I treated him right, he is now a deputy sheriff here.
Where were the shipyards in Texas and what did they build?
You think American High Schoolers and College kids are as readily available for work like these guys, who are on every corner in some neighborhoods?
I can see why people would think hiring people like this is super convenient (not to mention super cheap).
I didn't ask if the people who showed up to get my piano were illegal or not. I didn't really care if they sent the thing back to Mexico just as long as they got it out of the house. However, I did know the lady who took the piano and she was not Hispanic.
But don't kid yourself, today's illegals are also not bashful about sueing. And I am not sure about the insurance covering for that either, I know a rancher had an illegal killed while working for him. None of his insurance would pay, he was told he should have had workers comp, and when he was taken to court he had to pay the illegal's family the same amount of money they would have received if he had been covered by WC. The rancher also had to pay fines for not having WC to begin with.
What you said.
My husband did roofing, rain gutters and siding for 25 years before going to work for IBM.........we're doing the roofing and siding on our house ourselves right now. It is truly amazing how many people have stopped by here when we've been out there asking if we were looking to hire anyone to do it.
I was sort of embarrassed one day when I had to say no to 2 guys that I know.....they didn't realize it was our house. The contractor they USED to work for is only hiring day laborers anymore and not checking documentation according to these 2 guys....guys I know for a fact were born right here in this county. According to them because they can't prove the contractor is hiring illegals no one wants to talk to them about turning the guy in.
I don't buy the crapola the illegals are only doing jobs Americans won't...........I know far too many people cleaning hotel rooms and bussing tables and doing lawn/yard work to believe it for a second. Heck the guy that tilled up 10,000 square feet of field for us this morning was born about a mile from where he now lives.....and he had 2 more to do before he went to his regular part-time job at the Elks Lodge as a bartender.....in fact it was at the Elks Lodge that we met him, after he had finished his regular full time job :)
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