Day labor
Encyclopedia
Day labor is work done where the worker is hired and paid one day at a time, with no promise that more work will be available in the future. It is a form of contingent work
.
s find work through three common routes.
First, some employment agencies
specialize in very short-term contracts for manual labor most often in construction, factories, offices, and manufacturing. These companies usually have offices where workers can arrive and be assigned to a job on the spot, as they are available.
A manager looking for additional labor to fill an unexpected change in plans is presented with a problem of finding the needed quantity of labor with the right skills. Imagine the magnitude of the task of looking for workers, on the side of the street or by calling various employment agencies, who can verify they are journeyman asphalt rakers, typist, programmers, etc. The benefit of representation is applied to both the labor and employer. Labor is given a source of recourse to achieve a safe work environment free of favoritism and arbitrary work assignments. Employers benefit from organized labor training programs, benefit plans, dispute resolution http://www.laborerslocal185.com/disputes_resolutions.htm and a labor supply meeting most employers labor demand at most any time or place. The benefit of a labor supply arriving at a specified time and location within less than a days notice is reduced overhead resources.
Third and less formally, workers meet at well-known locations, usually public street corners or commercial parking lots, and wait for building contractors, landscapers, home owners and small business owners, and other potential employers to offer work. Much of this work is in small residential construction
or landscaping. These workers earn, on average, between $8 – $10 an hour. The media and a study by UCLA portrays day laborers as being undocumented immigrants from Mexico
and Central America
, who otherwise can't get work due to current employment regulations. Other research has found that day laborers are not typically undocumented, many are even citizens of the U.S., and that day labor is often a transition to fulltime work.
and black
day laborers in addition to hispanic
workers. Many other metropolitan areas still have non-immigrant day laborers, and many other large and small cities have immigrant day laborers from a variety of countries, including Mongolia
, Poland
, Russia
, Brazil
, Central and South America, and countries in Africa
. Non-immigrant informal day labor, seen in many cities, does not generate the controversy or calls to police and local government seen when immigrant day laborers gather to wait for work.
Unorganized day labor creates real problems for day laborers: 1 in 3 corner day laborers have experienced theft of wages in the past two months while 1 in 5 experienced a serious worksite injury in the past year. Low wages and poor working conditions, employer abuse, and lack of insurance for work related accidents is common.
Numerous complaints are made about immigrant day laborers. These include loitering, noise, crime and rushing cars of potential employers in parking lots. Cities and counties have tried a variety of solutions with varied success. Some municipalities and communities have supported workers' efforts to organize themselves into democratically run workers' centers, designated areas, and organization
s to defend workers' rights
in general. Workers' Centers of this kind date back at least 18 years to Los Angeles
. Other municipalities have targeted day labor sites for aggressive enforcement of immigration laws.
Though united in their commitment to the rights of immigrant workers, NDLON and the Day Labor Research Institute represent two very different models of day labor center. NDLON represents the "social service agency model" and the Institute the "day laborer designed model." These different models of day labor centers may yield markedly different results that reflect the different goals of each model.
Problems when workers' centers are established are also common: day laborers often continue to congregate in large numbers on the streets surrounding the day labor centers, refusing to leave the street and use the center; new problems can be created, including new crowds of homeless and substance abusers loitering near the center after hours, and large numbers of day laborers drawn from other areas to the streets surrounding the centers. Low levels of work at the centers, low wages, and problems with the job distribution system are also common.
Contingent work
Contingent work, also sometimes known as casual work, is a neologism which describes a type of employment relationship between an employer and employee...
.
Types
Day laborerLaborer
A Laborer or labourer - see variation in english spelling - is one of the construction trades, traditionally considered unskilled manual labor, as opposed to skilled labor. In the division of labor, laborers have all blasting, hand tools, power tools, air tools, and small heavy equipment, and act...
s find work through three common routes.
First, some employment agencies
Employment agency
An employment agency is an organization which matches employers to employees. In all developed countries there is a publicly funded employment agency and multiple private businesses which also act as employment agencies.-Public employment agencies:...
specialize in very short-term contracts for manual labor most often in construction, factories, offices, and manufacturing. These companies usually have offices where workers can arrive and be assigned to a job on the spot, as they are available.
A manager looking for additional labor to fill an unexpected change in plans is presented with a problem of finding the needed quantity of labor with the right skills. Imagine the magnitude of the task of looking for workers, on the side of the street or by calling various employment agencies, who can verify they are journeyman asphalt rakers, typist, programmers, etc. The benefit of representation is applied to both the labor and employer. Labor is given a source of recourse to achieve a safe work environment free of favoritism and arbitrary work assignments. Employers benefit from organized labor training programs, benefit plans, dispute resolution http://www.laborerslocal185.com/disputes_resolutions.htm and a labor supply meeting most employers labor demand at most any time or place. The benefit of a labor supply arriving at a specified time and location within less than a days notice is reduced overhead resources.
Third and less formally, workers meet at well-known locations, usually public street corners or commercial parking lots, and wait for building contractors, landscapers, home owners and small business owners, and other potential employers to offer work. Much of this work is in small residential construction
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
or landscaping. These workers earn, on average, between $8 – $10 an hour. The media and a study by UCLA portrays day laborers as being undocumented immigrants from Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
, who otherwise can't get work due to current employment regulations. Other research has found that day laborers are not typically undocumented, many are even citizens of the U.S., and that day labor is often a transition to fulltime work.
In the USA
Informal day labor is not new to the United States, and day laborers are not always migrant workers in many cases. In his study of day laborers in Atlanta, Terry Easton interviews whiteWhite people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
and black
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
day laborers in addition to hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
workers. Many other metropolitan areas still have non-immigrant day laborers, and many other large and small cities have immigrant day laborers from a variety of countries, including Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Central and South America, and countries in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. Non-immigrant informal day labor, seen in many cities, does not generate the controversy or calls to police and local government seen when immigrant day laborers gather to wait for work.
Unorganized day labor creates real problems for day laborers: 1 in 3 corner day laborers have experienced theft of wages in the past two months while 1 in 5 experienced a serious worksite injury in the past year. Low wages and poor working conditions, employer abuse, and lack of insurance for work related accidents is common.
Numerous complaints are made about immigrant day laborers. These include loitering, noise, crime and rushing cars of potential employers in parking lots. Cities and counties have tried a variety of solutions with varied success. Some municipalities and communities have supported workers' efforts to organize themselves into democratically run workers' centers, designated areas, and organization
Organization
An organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon - as we know `organ` - and it means a compartment for a particular job.There are a variety of legal types of...
s to defend workers' rights
Labor rights
Labor rights or workers' rights are a group of legal rights and claimed human rights having to do with labor relations between workers and their employers, usually obtained under labor and employment law. In general, these rights' debates have to do with negotiating workers' pay, benefits, and safe...
in general. Workers' Centers of this kind date back at least 18 years to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Other municipalities have targeted day labor sites for aggressive enforcement of immigration laws.
Though united in their commitment to the rights of immigrant workers, NDLON and the Day Labor Research Institute represent two very different models of day labor center. NDLON represents the "social service agency model" and the Institute the "day laborer designed model." These different models of day labor centers may yield markedly different results that reflect the different goals of each model.
Problems when workers' centers are established are also common: day laborers often continue to congregate in large numbers on the streets surrounding the day labor centers, refusing to leave the street and use the center; new problems can be created, including new crowds of homeless and substance abusers loitering near the center after hours, and large numbers of day laborers drawn from other areas to the streets surrounding the centers. Low levels of work at the centers, low wages, and problems with the job distribution system are also common.
Organizations
- Public Architecture's Day Labor Station
- Library Service to Day Laborers: Biblio/webliography
- Casa Latina
- Issue Lab: Day Labor
- Day Labor Research Institute