Labor Ready
Encyclopedia
Labor Ready, based in Tacoma, WA
, is the United States
' largest provider of temporary worker
s for manual
day labor
to the construction industry, other light industry, and small businesses. Its shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange
under the ticker symbol
TBI. Labor Ready is part of the TrueBlue group of companies, which also includes CLP Resources, Spartan Staffing, Plane Techs, and Centerline.
Founded in 1989 in Kent, WA
by Glenn Welstad and two partners, Labor Ready has 600 locations in all 50 states and Canada
. It has also grown through the acquisition of two companies, CLP Resources and Spartan Staffing.
All branches open at 5:30 AM in order to begin dispatching workers needed that day. (When companies need workers for evening, night, or weekend shifts, Labor Ready assigns the workers hours in advance or one to two days in advance.) Depending on the location of the office and the day of the week, anywhere from zero to roughly one hundred workers can be dispatched daily. Typically, workers line up outside the doors of a given branch office prior to the branch opening, however, company policy states it is not a first come first serve, as they deploy workers by a system known as "Best Match Dispatch" to supply customers (job sites) with workers who are most likely to fill their needs. Occasionally some potential workers receive no jobs for the day.
, which commended the company as a model for the temporary employment industry, as the first participant in its VIP program in which the employer and the Department of Labor work closely and productively to ensure compliance with all wage and hour rules.
documentation program has been recognized by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
with IMAGE Partnership. To become a partner, Labor Ready passed a series of interviews and audits by enforcement agency representatives. The company has also launched an I-9
training program in Spring 2008.
Other brands under TrueBlue include CLP, Spartan Staffing, PlaneTechs, BusTechs and Centerline. Spartan Staffing is one of the largest specialized providers of light industrial temporary workers in the southeastern and southern United States, providing workers for long and short term assignments. CLP provides skilled tradespeople for the construction and facilities industries.
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
, is the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
' largest provider of temporary worker
Laborer
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 for manual
Manual labour
Manual labour , manual or manual work is physical work done by people, most especially in contrast to that done by machines, and also to that done by working animals...
day labor
Day labor
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.-Types:Day laborers find work through three common routes....
to the construction industry, other light industry, and small businesses. Its shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
under the ticker symbol
Ticker symbol
A stock symbol or ticker symbol is a short abbreviation used to uniquely identify publicly traded shares of a particular stock on a particular stock market. A stock symbol may consist of letters, numbers or a combination of both. "Ticker symbol" refers to the symbols that were printed on the ticker...
TBI. Labor Ready is part of the TrueBlue group of companies, which also includes CLP Resources, Spartan Staffing, Plane Techs, and Centerline.
Founded in 1989 in Kent, WA
Kent, Washington
Kent is a city located in King County, Washington, United States, and is the third largest city in King County and the sixth largest in the state. An outlying suburb of Seattle, Kent is also the corporate home for companies such as REI and Oberto Sausage...
by Glenn Welstad and two partners, Labor Ready has 600 locations in all 50 states and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It has also grown through the acquisition of two companies, CLP Resources and Spartan Staffing.
Worker payment, hours of operation, etc.
Workers are paid daily by check or by cash voucher. Workers have access to safety equipment at no charge as long as it is returned to the appropriate branch office at the end of each work day. Workers who do not have transportation to jobs are sometimes provided with transportation at a fee of between $2.50 to $3.50 each way. The current rate as of January 2011 in Brantford, Canada, is $5.50 each way. Workers also commonly use public transportation to get to and from job sites. They are encouraged to wait at their branch office each morning for work that may become available, though this waiting is unpaid.All branches open at 5:30 AM in order to begin dispatching workers needed that day. (When companies need workers for evening, night, or weekend shifts, Labor Ready assigns the workers hours in advance or one to two days in advance.) Depending on the location of the office and the day of the week, anywhere from zero to roughly one hundred workers can be dispatched daily. Typically, workers line up outside the doors of a given branch office prior to the branch opening, however, company policy states it is not a first come first serve, as they deploy workers by a system known as "Best Match Dispatch" to supply customers (job sites) with workers who are most likely to fill their needs. Occasionally some potential workers receive no jobs for the day.
DOL VIP program participation
In 2003, Labor Ready was selected by the United States Department of LaborUnited States Department of Labor
The United States Department of Labor is a Cabinet department of the United States government responsible for occupational safety, wage and hour standards, unemployment insurance benefits, re-employment services, and some economic statistics. Many U.S. states also have such departments. The...
, which commended the company as a model for the temporary employment industry, as the first participant in its VIP program in which the employer and the Department of Labor work closely and productively to ensure compliance with all wage and hour rules.
I-9 documentation program
Labor Ready's I-9I-9 (form)
The Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 is a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services form. It is used by an employer to verify an employee's identity and to establish that the worker is eligible to accept employment in the United States....
documentation program has been recognized by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security , responsible for identifying, investigating, and dismantling vulnerabilities regarding the nation's border, economic, transportation, and infrastructure security...
with IMAGE Partnership. To become a partner, Labor Ready passed a series of interviews and audits by enforcement agency representatives. The company has also launched an I-9
I-9 (form)
The Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 is a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services form. It is used by an employer to verify an employee's identity and to establish that the worker is eligible to accept employment in the United States....
training program in Spring 2008.
Name change
In 2007, the parent corporation was renamed TrueBlue, Inc. to reflect the company’s expanding family of brands. It changed its corporate headquarters web address to http://www.trueblueinc.com, and its stock ticker to TBI. Labor Ready remains TrueBlue's flagship brand.Other brands under TrueBlue include CLP, Spartan Staffing, PlaneTechs, BusTechs and Centerline. Spartan Staffing is one of the largest specialized providers of light industrial temporary workers in the southeastern and southern United States, providing workers for long and short term assignments. CLP provides skilled tradespeople for the construction and facilities industries.