Although I would have valued to get the prospective of the day laborers themselves, I settled and got the perspective of an employer. I was perplexed when speaking to colleagues and friends, to discover how many have employed day laborers for their households and privately owned businesses. One friend in particular recollected one of his more recent experiences. He arrived at a pick up stop before seven o’clock in the morning. It is his belief that the good workers are selected early in the day, and those who remain were not equipped for the job. At his arrival, a few men approached his car. He stated that he would need someone to do yard work. Several men agreed to do that line of work, and he chose the one that negotiated the best price. …show more content…
The day laborer cleaned the yard for more than seven hours, stopping shortly to eat a meal that he brought with him. After the day’s work, my friend paid the man what was promised to him, a measly forty dollars. This translated to about five dollars an hour. He stated that he always paid day laborers in cash and brought them back to the pick-up site after the day’s work. Paying in cash he told me, was for security reasons and convenience. He did not want the transaction to be traced back to him, because of the nature of the “under the table” deal. I asked him why he did not employ a legitimate business employer to do his work. He replied that the day laborers worked more swiftly than legitimate workers and that they were more economical. He never had an issue with any worker and would continue to utilize their services whenever he needed