Day labor hiring (jobs, company, wage, interest)

[mcss]

Have any of you ever used day labor agencies like Labor Ready / Labor Finders / Command Staffing / etc to hire unskilled workers (whether for your home or fory our company)? What is the experience like?

How "good" are the people you're sent?
How well does the process work? Love it or hate it?
Does the agency take care of all administrative paperwork (I9s, W2s, etc), as well as payroll and workers comp for the unskilled workers? How helpful is that?

I'm trying to understand the the process of hiring unskilled workers better - would love to hear from folks who have hired before from a day labor center / staffing agency.

[andywire]

If you want to pay minimum wage, some will send you a wagon full of illegals. Agencies are supposed to check papers, but they never do. In the end though, you generally get what you pay for.

[PacificFlights]

I prefer to go to the local mini-mart and hire illegals directly from the corner. You can spend more time finding the ones who know what you want and willing to do it for a fair price. At those day labor centers (legal licnesed places) you tend to get the next body on the list and since they are mostly legals, they cost more.

[Thursday007]

My father used day labor work from the prison work release program. It was, shall we say, 50/50 'interesting.'

[jambo101]

Originally Posted by andywire

If you want to pay minimum wage, some will send you a wagon full of illegals. Agencies are supposed to check papers, but they never do. In the end though, you generally get what you pay for.

I'm not an illegal and i spent a summer doing day labor.
Basically you wait around in a gym after you've registered with many of the poorest people you've ever encountered and if you are lucky you get to go out on a job for the day, a job which usually consists of lifting 100lb bags of something or picking some form of produce all day, the company usually charges whoever wants the laborer/s 2-3 times minimum wage then pays the laborers minimum wage. its tough work that most Americans wouldnt be motivated to do,farm work is also a job most Americans wont do, so your problem of illegals is a necessary glitch in the system,if you dont want the illegals then get Americans to get out in the fields all day or unload trucks and box cars all day.
Yeah like thats going to happen.

[Hemlock140]

I have used them both for my business a few years ago and recently in my new job.

For the most part, they were not worth the $15/hour I was charged, though a couple of them used for general office work did do a pretty good job and learned quickly.

Of the 4 we used in the last two years, one I hired as a permanent employee, the other three are still working through the agency.

[andywire]

Originally Posted by jambo101

I'm not an illegal and i spent a summer doing day labor.
Basically you wait around in a gym after you've registered with many of the poorest people you've ever encountered and if you are lucky you get to go out on a job for the day, a job which usually consists of lifting 100lb bags of something or picking some form of produce all day, the company usually charges whoever wants the laborer/s 2-3 times minimum wage then pays the laborers minimum wage. its tough work that most Americans wouldnt be motivated to do,farm work is also a job most Americans wont do, so your problem of illegals is a necessary glitch in the system,if you dont want the illegals then get Americans to get out in the fields all day or unload trucks and box cars all day.
Yeah like thats going to happen.

I wouldn't agree that these are jobs American's wont do. I think they are jobs that American's wouldn't want to do for minimum wage. Why not say screw the agency and offer $14 or $15 an hour? I'm sure you would get quite the turn out.

I don't think illegals are necessary, they are only necessary to make the boss fat. If they are necessary to keep a business afloat, it's because all the other competition is using illegals for said labor jobs.