day labor

{{Short description|Work done where the worker is hired and paid one day at a time}}

{{Cleanup|reason=Article poorly organized, generally scattered, no international perspective|date=March 2021}}

File:Workers At Dusk, GEC, Chittagong.jpg, Bangladesh.]]

Day labor (or day labour in Commonwealth spelling) 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, and outside the protection of labor and civil rights laws. It is a form of contingent work .

Types

File:Mednyánszky, László - Day Labourer.jpg)]]

File:Tagelöhnerhaus qtl1.jpg

Day laborers (also known archaically as daysmen

{{cite web

|title = daysman - noun

|location = Springfield, MA

|publisher = Merriam-Webster Dictionary

|url = https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/daysman

|website = merriam-webster.com

|year = 2020

|quote = 1 – archaic: UMPIRE, ARBITER. 2 – archaic: DAY LABORER.

|access-date = June 2, 2020

}}) find work through several common routes.

Some employment agencies specialize in very short-term contracts for manual labor, primarily in construction, factories, offices, and manufacturing. These companies usually have offices where workers can arrive and be immediately assigned to a job.

Unions are a second route through which workers find employment. In situations such as an unexpected change in construction plans, an employer may require additional appropriately skilled labor. By contacting a workers' union, the manager can find laborers with appropriate skills. In turn, the union workers have a higher chance of being employed since the manager is able to find workers to employ. Thus, the benefit of union representation applies to both the worker and the employer.{{cite web

|last1 = Freeman

|first1 = Richard B.

|last2 = Medoff

|first2 = James L.

|title = What Do Unions Do?

|at = Chapter 1

|publisher = Basic Books, Inc.

|location = New York

|year = 1984

|url = http://www.uschinalabor.org/docs%5CWhat%20Do%20Unions%20Do_E.pdf

|access-date = February 22, 2009

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110929171619/http://www.uschinalabor.org/docs/What%20Do%20Unions%20Do_E.pdf

|archive-date = September 29, 2011

|url-status = dead

}}{{Cite web

|last = Freeman

|first = Richard B.

|title = What do Unions Do?

|edition = The 2004 M-Brane Stringtwister

|publisher = National Bureau of Economic Research

|location = Cambridge, MA

|date = June 2005

|url = https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/6785289.pdf

|access-date = September 9, 2020

}} Through the union, workers are given a source of recourse to achieve a safe work environment free of favoritism and arbitrary work assignments. Employers benefit from organized labor training programs, benefit plans, dispute resolution{{cite web

|title = Disputes/Resolutions

|publisher = Laborers' Local #185

|location = Sacramento, Redding, Yuba

|date = 2004

|url = http://www.laborerslocal185.com/disputes_resolutions.htm

|access-date = February 22, 2009

|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080917131935/http://www.laborerslocal185.com/disputes_resolutions.htm

|archive-date = September 17, 2008

|url-status = dead

}} and a labor supply meeting labor demand at many times or places. A labor supply arriving at a specified time and location with less than a day's notice results in reduced overhead resources, which benefits the employer.{{cite book

|last1 = Ehrenberg

|first1 = Ronald G.

|last2 = Smith

|first2 = Robert S.

|title = Modern Labor Economics: Theory and Public Policy

|edition = 8th

|work = Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations

|publisher = Addison Wesley

|location = Boston, San Francisco, New York

|year = 2003

|page = 132

|isbn = 978-0-321-30503-9

|url = http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~liuyc/LaborPaper/ch4sup.pdf

|access-date = February 22, 2009

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100705062901/http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~liuyc/LaborPaper/ch4sup.pdf

|archive-date = July 5, 2010

|url-status = dead

}}{{cite book

|last1 = Ehrenberg

|first1 = Ronald G.

|last2 = Smith

|first2 = Robert S.

|title = Modern Labor Economics: Theory and Public Policy

|edition = 12th

|type = softcover

|publisher = Routledge

|location = London and New York

|year = 2016

|isbn = 978-0-13-346278-4

|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=tiMHDAAAQBAJ&q=Modern+Labor+Economics%3A+Theory+%26+Public+Policy+2016

|access-date = September 10, 2020

}}

Less formally, workers offer their work to potential employers such as building contractors, landscapers, home owners, and small business owners. Workers assemble at at well-known locations, such as street corners or commercial parking lots, in the hope of finding such work.

Day labor in the United States

Informal day labor is not new to the United States, and day laborers are not always migrant workers in many cases. In his study of day laborers in Atlanta, Terry Easton interviews white, black, and Hispanic workers.{{cite web

|last= Easton

|first= Terry

|url= http://southernspaces.org/2007/geographies-hope-and-despair-atlantas-african-american-latino-and-white-day-laborers

|title= Geographies of Hope and Despair: Atlanta's African American, Latino, and White Day Laborers

|publisher= Emory Center for Digital Scholarship

|website= Southernspaces.org

|date= December 21, 2007

|access-date= August 16, 2013}} Many other metropolitan areas still have non-immigrant day laborers, and many other large and small cities have immigrant day laborers from a variety of countries, including Mongolia, Poland, Russia, Brazil, Central and South America, and countries in Africa. Non-immigrant informal day labor, present in many cities, does not generate the controversy or calls to police and local government seen when immigrant day laborers gather to wait for work.{{citation needed|date=November 2010}}

The day labor workforce in the United States in overwhelmingly male (98%) and predominantly Latino. According to [https://nlg-laboremploy-comm.org/media/documents/nlg-laboremploy-comm.org_32.pdf survey data by UCLA,] 59% of day laborers were born in Mexico, 14% in Guatemala, and 8% in Honduras. Approximately 75% of these workers are undocumented, though 11% have pending legal status claims.

Nonetheless, immigrants are a large source of day labor in the United States. Often, day labor work is in small residential construction or landscaping.{{Cite news

|last = Greenhouse

|first = Steven

|title = Day Laborer Battle Runs Outside Home Depot

|date = October 10, 2005

|work=The New York Times

|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/10/national/10depot.html

|via = nytimes.com

|access-date = October 10, 2005

}} These workers earn, on average, $8–$10 an hour. The media and a 2005 study by UCLA portrays day laborers as mostly being illegal immigrants from Mexico and Central America, who would otherwise be unable to work due to employment regulations.{{Cite web |url=http://uscode.house.gov/download/pls/Title_08.txt |title=Archived copy |access-date=2007-07-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070726041901/http://uscode.house.gov/download/pls/Title_08.txt |archive-date=2007-07-26 |url-status=dead }} Other research has found that day laborers are not typically illegal immigrants. Many are citizens of the US, and day labor is often a transition to full-time work.{{cite report

|last= Guerette

|first= Rob T.

|title= Disorder at Day Laborer Sites

|series= Problem-Specific Guides Series, No. 44

|date= October 2006

|website= popcenter.asu.edu

|url=

https://popcenter.asu.edu/sites/default/files/sites/default/files/problems/pdfs/disorder_at_daylaborsites.pdf

|publisher= U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services}}{{rp|pages=1-2}}

Unorganized day labor creates problems for day laborers: 1 in 3 corner day laborers have experienced theft of wages in the past two months and 1 in 5 experienced a serious worksite injury in the past year. Low wages and poor working conditions, employer abuse, and lack of insurance for work related accidents is common.{{cite web |url=http://www.issuelab.com/browse/browse_pub.php?pub_id=478 |title=Speak for Yourself: What Girls Say about What Girls Need |publisher=IssueLab |access-date=2013-08-16 |archive-date=2007-09-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928200315/http://www.issuelab.com/browse/browse_pub.php?pub_id=478 |url-status=dead }}Ordonez Juan Thomas (2015) Jornalero: Being a Day Laborer in the USA. University of California Press

In addition to wage theft, day laborers frequently report encountering unsafe working conditions without training, protective gear or access to medical care. A study by the National Lawyers Guild's Labor and Employment committee found that many workers fear retaliation or immigration consequences if they report injuries or unsafe conditions.

File:United Day Laborers, Fighting For our Rights.jpg

Some municipalities and communities have supported workers' efforts to organize themselves into democratically run workers' centers, designated areas, and organizations to defend workers' rights in general. Workers' Centers of this kind date back at least 18 years{{when|date=March 2014}} to Los Angeles. Other municipalities have targeted day labor sites for aggressive enforcement of immigration laws.

Though united in their commitment to the rights of immigrant workers, NDLON and the Day Labor Research Institute represent different models of day labor center. NDLON represents the "social service agency model" and the Institute the "day laborer designed model."{{Cite web |url=http://daylaborinfo.org/Documents/Comparing%20Day%20Labor%20Center%20Models.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2008-01-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012001207/http://daylaborinfo.org/Documents/Comparing%20Day%20Labor%20Center%20Models.pdf |archive-date=2007-10-12 |url-status=dead }} These different models of day labor centers may yield markedly different results that reflect the different goals of each model.

Problems when workers' centers are established can involve day laborers continuing to congregate in large numbers on the streets surrounding the day labor centers, refusing to leave the street to use the center,{{cite web |last=Svensson |first=Lynn |title=Best Practices for Day Labor Centers" Planning |publisher=American Planning Association |date=April 2006 |url=http://myapa.planning.org/planning/member/2006apr/daylaborside.htm?project=Print }}{{Dead link|date=November 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} and large numbers of day laborers drawn from other areas to the streets surrounding the centers.{{rp|pages=3-4}} Low levels of work at the centers, low wages, and problems with the job distribution system are also common.{{rp|page=6}}

Day laborers in the United States have also played a critical role in disaster responses and recovery work, assisting with debris removal, rebuilding homes, and cleaning up hazardous waste after events like wildfires and hurricanes. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, most day laborers continued working frontlines without access to protective gear, paid leave, or healthcare, highlighting their vulnerability.

Immigration policies in the US significantly impact day laborers in the US, many of whom are undocumented and vulnerable to exploitation. Fear of deportation can deter workers from reporting wage theft or unsafe working conditions. Additionally immigration enforcement actions near hiring sites have been known to disrupt workers ability to find employment and contribute, duties to fear and instability within the work force.

References

External links

=Organizations=

[http://www.daylaborstation.org/Resources.htm Public Architecture's Day Labor Station]
[http://www.sol-plus.net/jornaleros.htm Library Service to Day Laborers: Biblio/webliography]
[http://www.casa-latina.org/ Casa Latina]
[http://www.issuelab.com/search/search.php?r=25&q=day+labor Issue Lab: Day Labor] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928200321/http://www.issuelab.com/search/search.php?r=25&q=day+labor |date=2007-09-28 }}
[https://web.archive.org/web/20080704103838/http://www.daylaborinfo.org/ Day Labor Research Institute]

=In film and television=

[https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/documentaries/theworkers/ PBS The Workers documentary]
[https://www.pbs.org/pov/films/farmingville/ PBS Farmingville documentary]
[http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20081030190452/http://www.daylaborthemovie.com/ Day Labor, a short comedy satirizing corporate America through the experience of two laborers]
{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20080401092332/http://www.thejobtheshort.com/ The Job, an award-winning comic short]}}

Category:Labor

Category:Precarious work

Category:Employment classifications

day labor

Types

Day labor in the United States

See also

References

Further reading

External links

=Organizations=

=In film and television=