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Nevada Job Connect helping legal day laborers find work

July 6, 2006, 11:46 AM


Late last year, Las Vegas was named one of the country's hottest job markets, but we've heard from a lot of you who say it's tough to find work because employers are going after illegal day laborers.

Two months ago our hidden cameras caught local construction companies and moving companies picking up these workers. The problem hasn't gone away, but we found a solution that puts more people to work legally.

The group Nevada Job Connect aims to help people find day laborers who are legally allowed to work here.

It's an old saying, where there's a buck to be made, there's someone willing to work for it - legally or not.

News 3 cameras two months ago caught illegal immigrants waiting around for someone to hire them. It's illegal to hire them, but often employers are enticed by the fact that they are willing to work for next to nothing.

"You may be able to get it cheaper because he's willing to work for something, but you don't know who he or she is that's jumping into your vehicle, doing god knows what," said Mel Hadfield, Nevada Job Connect.

Nevada Job Connect is a state service, free of charge, that places day laborers with people who need a job done, and these folks are all cleared to work in the US.

"We're going to have someone there that you know and we know, and someone who you'll be proud of and we will too who will do the job for you, and that's the bottom line," said Hadfield.

Jill Stokke hired a day laborer through Nevada Job Connect, rather than trying to find someone who's here illegally.

"As far as running down to Bonanza or one of those streets, and picking up someone on the street, I took high school Spanish honey, but I can't communicate so that would be a huge barrier for me," said Stokke.

Of course, even with this service, it won't stop illegal immigrants from working here, nor will it stop those who are willing to pay them. But it just might be a step in the right direction.

The day laborers in Nevada Job Connect typically work for $8 to $10 an hour, depending on the job.

Nevada Job Connect has three centers here in the Valley, one in Las Vegas, one in North Las Vegas and one in Henderson; it's a taxpayer funded state agency.