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  1. #1
    Senior Member Brian503a's Avatar
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    Broad Survey of Day Laborers Finds High Level of Injuries an

    http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/22/national/22labor.html

    January 22, 2006
    Broad Survey of Day Laborers Finds High Level of Injuries and Pay Violations
    By STEVEN GREENHOUSE
    The first nationwide study on day laborers has found that such workers are a nationwide phenomenon, with 117,600 people gathering at more than 500 hiring sites to look for work on a typical day.

    The survey found that three-fourths of day laborers were illegal immigrants and that more than half said employers had cheated them on wages in the previous two months.

    The study found that 49 percent of day laborers were employed by homeowners and 43 percent by construction contractors. They were found to be employed most frequently as construction laborers, landscapers, painters, roofers and drywall installers.

    The study, based on interviews with 2,660 workers at 264 hiring sites in 20 states and the District of Columbia, found that day laborers earned a median of $10 an hour and $700 month. The study said that only a small number earned more than $15,000 a year.

    The professors who conducted the study said the most surprising finding was the pervasiveness of wage violations and dangerous conditions that day laborers faced.

    "We were disturbed by the incredibly high incidence of wage violations," said one of the study's authors, Nik Theodore of the University of Illinois at Chicago. "We also found a very high level of injuries."

    Forty-nine percent of those interviewed said that in the previous two months an employer had not paid them for one or more days' work. Forty-four percent said some employers did not give them any breaks during the workday, while 28 percent said employers had insulted them.

    Another of the study's authors, Abel Valenzuela Jr. of the University of California, Los Angeles, said: "This is a labor market that thrives on cheap wages and the fact that most of these workers are undocumented. They're in a situation where they're extremely vulnerable, and employers know that and take advantage of them."

    In some communities, tensions have soared over day labor sites, with complaints that the workers interrupt traffic, block sidewalks, trespass on store property and litter. In addition, the laborers have become the target of groups opposed to illegal immigrants.

    Nine percent of day laborers reported having been arrested while waiting for work, while 11 percent reported receiving police citations and 37 percent reported being chased away. Nineteen percent said merchants had insulted them, and 15 percent said merchants had not let them use their bathrooms or make purchases.

    The survey found that 59 percent of day laborers were from Mexico and 28 percent from Central America, while 7 percent were born in the United States. Sixty percent of the immigrant workers said that day labor was their first occupation in the United States.

    While waiting for work Friday morning near a Home Depot in the Pico Union section of Los Angeles, Cesar Ramirez, a 46-year-old immigrant from Mexico, said he had been hired only one day in the previous week.

    He said he makes $15 an hour when he works on plumbing or electrical jobs, but $8 or $10 an hour when hired to do landscaping. Many weeks, he said, he does not earn enough to support his six children.

    "I come here every morning and sometimes I leave at 3 p.m. without work," said Mr. Ramirez, who said he had worked as a day laborer since arriving from Oaxaca, Mexico, four years ago. "I keep doing it because I can't find a permanent job. I'd like to find something better."

    He said a contractor had recently failed to pay more than $500 due him after he had spent five days doing electrical and plumbing work. Mr. Ramirez asked a workers' rights group to help him get paid, but he was unsuccessful because he did not have the contractor's name, telephone number or address.

    "Sometimes they take advantage," Mr. Ramirez said.

    Nearly three-fourths of the day laborers surveyed said they gathered at day labor sites five or more days a week, with the average laborer finding work three to three-and-a-half days a week. In good months, day laborers earn $1,400, the report found, and in bad months, especially winter months, $500.

    The study said that the number of day laborers had soared because of the surge of immigrants, the boom in homebuilding and renovation, the construction industry's growing use of temporary workers, and the volatility of the job market.

    "For many workers in cities with declining employment prospects, day labor provides a chance to regain a foothold in the urban economy," the study said. "For others, it is a first job in the United States and an opportunity to acquire work experience, skills and employer contacts. For still others, it represents an opportunity to earn an income when temporarily laid off from a job elsewhere in the economy."

    The study found that 44 percent of those surveyed had been day laborers for less than a year, while 30 percent had done that work for one to three years, suggesting that many moved to jobs in other sectors of the economy. Twenty-six percent said they were day laborers for more than three years.

    The report said that 36 percent were married, while 7 percent were with living with a parent. Two-thirds said they had children.

    The study found that 73 percent said they were placed in hazardous working conditions, like digging ditches, working with chemicals, or on roofs or scaffolding. The report said that employers often put day laborers into dangerous jobs that regular workers were reluctant to do - often with minimal training and safety equipment.

    One-fifth said that in the past year they had suffered injuries requiring medical attention, and 60 percent of that group said their injuries caused them to miss more than a week of work.

    "Day laborers continue to endure unsafe working conditions, mainly because they fear that if they speak up, complain, or otherwise challenge these conditions, they will either be fired or not paid for their work," the report said.

    Among day laborers injured on the job during the previous year, 54 percent said they had not received the medical care they needed, mostly because they could not afford health care or the employer refused to cover them under the company's workers' compensation insurance.

    The biggest hope for day laborers, the study said, are the 63 day labor centers that operate as hiring halls where workers and employers arrange to meet. These centers, usually created in partnerships with local government or community organizations, often require workers and employers to register, helping to reduce abuses. The centers provide shelter, bathrooms and water - sometimes even English lessons - while workers wait. Many set a minimum wage, often $10 an hour, that employers must pay the laborers.

    "The first thing to do to improve things for day laborers is to have more of these centers," said Pablo Alvarado, national coordinator of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, an advocacy group for such workers. "The second thing is to have the government enforce the labor laws more consistently."
    Support our FIGHT AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty by joining our E-mail Alerts at http://eepurl.com/cktGTn

  2. #2
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    Nine percent of day laborers reported having been arrested while waiting for work, while 11 percent reported receiving police citations and 37 percent reported being chased away. Nineteen percent said merchants had insulted them, and 15 percent said merchants had not let them use their bathrooms or make purchases.
    Another lawsuit in the making I'll bet.

    He said he makes $15 an hour when he works on plumbing or electrical jobs, but $8 or $10 an hour when hired to do landscaping. Many weeks, he said, he does not earn enough to support his six children.
    Don't worry about it Cesar Ramirez. There might be government assistance your 6 CHILDREN qualify for I'll bet.

    "I come here every morning and sometimes I leave at 3 p.m. without work," said Mr. Ramirez, who said he had worked as a day laborer since arriving from Oaxaca, Mexico, four years ago. "I keep doing it because I can't find a permanent job. I'd like to find something better."
    Why not go back to Oaxaca, Mexico, and "look" there?

    He said a contractor had recently failed to pay more than $500 due him after he had spent five days doing electrical and plumbing work. Mr. Ramirez asked a workers' rights group to help him get paid, but he was unsuccessful because he did not have the contractor's name, telephone number or address.
    Shame on this unscrupulous contractor who took advantage of you Cesar. Who would have thought anybody who broke the law by hiring you wouldn't pay you?

    The study said that the number of day laborers had soared because of the surge of immigrants, the boom in homebuilding and renovation, the construction industry's growing use of temporary workers, and the volatility of the job market.
    Smart money would bet on the surge of ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS.

    The study found that 44 percent of those surveyed had been day laborers for less than a year, while 30 percent had done that work for one to three years, suggesting that many moved to jobs in other sectors of the economy. Twenty-six percent said they were day laborers for more than three years.
    I guess poor Cesar falls in the last category?

    The report said that 36 percent were married, while 7 percent were with living with a parent. Two-thirds said they had children.
    So 66% have children? I'll bet it's hard for these fathers to support their children working 3 1/2 days per week at $10 per hr, being beat out of wages.

    The study found that 73 percent said they were placed in hazardous working conditions, like digging ditches, working with chemicals, or on roofs or scaffolding. The report said that employers often put day laborers into dangerous jobs that regular workers were reluctant to do - often with minimal training and safety equipment.
    Perhaps they'd be better off working in their home countries. I'll bet there are plenty of jobs at home. Hint!

    Among day laborers injured on the job during the previous year, 54 percent said they had not received the medical care they needed, mostly because they could not afford health care or the employer refused to cover them under the company's workers' compensation insurance.
    Are they saying 46% did receive medical care? Wonder who paid for it.

    The centers provide shelter, bathrooms and water - sometimes even English lessons - while workers wait. Many set a minimum wage, often $10 an hour, that employers must pay the laborers.
    How about snacks, air conditioned building, color tv's, etc.?

    "The first thing to do to improve things for day laborers is to have more of these centers," said Pablo Alvarado, national coordinator of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, an advocacy group for such workers. "The second thing is to have the government enforce the labor laws more consistently."
    The first thing to do is to deport all illegal immigrants. And the second thing is to have you put in jail for aiding and abetting illegals Mr Pablo Alvardo, national coordinator of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network.
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

  3. #3
    Senior Member AuntB's Avatar
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    "They're in a situation where they're extremely vulnerable, and employers know that and take advantage of them."


    And there it is! That's why employers who defend this mess want this to continue. They don't want mouthy US citizens who demand real wages and respect as a human being.

    If anyone doesn't believe this is creating a slave/welfare class, they are nuts!
    Want to make people angry? Lie to them.
    Want to make them absolutely livid? Tell 'em the truth."



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