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 ...
Spoiled indeed.
I have one 17 yr. old nephew whose parents are well-off.
I don't think he has worked a day in his life.
He THROWS A FIT if either of his parents ASKs him to do anything (they always ask, never demand).
He has TWO vehicles- one sportscar and one SUV. He has aspirations to attend the Air Force Academy. Whenever reminded that he does not have acceptable grades to even get into a community college, much less the AF Academy, his response is that his dad will get him in. It will be entertaining watching that drama unfold in 2 years. Sad that they are saddled with a leech for the remainder of their lives.
I bought a digital keyboard. It never goes out of tune and I can play banjo, violin or strings on it.
My real piano took 18" of water in a flood, I don't miss it.
The hardest work I've ever done in my life is moving that piano. I moved it out in 1987 and I'm still tired.
My neighbor's face got red when I asked her if her housecleaners and gardeners were legal U.S. citizens. She said she had no idea. Clueless.
I believe that people who hire illegal aliens are contributing to the sellout of America. President Bush and his cronies of both parties don't need any help on that one...they're trying their hardest.
and frankly, the work is superior to what illegals do
Texas and Arizona?
Oh my god! Fly that man out for a tropical vacation, bring him beer whenever he needs it, cater to his every whim.
And yes, I hate roofing with a passion.
I saw an article about how blacks are now doing the day laborer thing at the same places as the illegals. Guess what, people are picking up the illegals and leaving black men standing there.
We still do the round-up-the-buddies thing. Recently rebuilt a fence and remodeled the kitchen that way. Food, drink, and payback later. Still a heckuva lot cheaper.
You are lucky. I do believe there are high school kids that are willing to work hard. However, I have tried for several weeks to hire contractors or high school kids to take down some tree limbs damaged in a recent storm. They were large and were dangerous left in their present state. Contractors required me to wait 8 -14 weeks before they could do the work. They estimated the cost at around $1700. High school boys who do lawn work in the neighborhood (I called all 12 on the list) weren't interested at any price. Our neighbor hired a guy at Home Depot to remove his. He came out that day, did a great job and charged 175. I wish I could find a high schooler, but given the alternatives I am seriously considering calling the day laborer.
Hmmmm let's see $200/9man hours = $22+/hr
You paid way too much !
FWIW, I've been told that to change out a water heater (legally) - a building permit is needed in Cal.
In Chicago, all laws of that sort are specifically drawn up to maximize union labor.
As an example, it's one of the few places in the country where you can't use Romex wiring (Type NM) in single family housing. Gotta have that metal conduit there, and pump up the IBEW rolls.
A tragedy all the way around.
Thanks for posting this...
I am not surprised by what you said about the high schoolers. They are too busy with their playstations.
Can't buy a furnace or outdoor AC unit in Chicago, unless you have a special union card either.
The plastic pipe prohibition in Chicago is the funniest, the reason given by the Emporer is that metal pipes won't burn up in a fire (I think you want the PC piping to burn and release water to extinguish the fire).
Hiring someone off the street and taking them into your home is no different than picking up a hitch hiker.
You get what you pay for and if that is theft, murder or rape....
My daughter babysits and gets around $10 /hour, because it is so hard to find good babysitters. She is only 13, and she sometimes makes $250 on a weekend. Even so, most of the girls her age don't want to do it. Must be nice.
Yeah and how many of these criminal homeowners get raped like that woman in Rockland County N.Y. last year, or get their kids obducted, raped and killed?
The government should use the RICO law to take the home, bank accounts, cars, and retirement accounts of any homeowner caught hiring an illegal alien.
You are just as likely to be sued by an illegal these days. Illegals are filing more and more lawsuits. They call it the "American Lottery."
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