[oldfrt]

Searched the site,but couldn't find anything about this.

I was recently working across from a roofer who appeared to have himself
a good sized crew(5 guys).
They took two days to strip ,ply,and dry in about 30sq.worth of a 3-layer roof with wood shakes.

Today there was only one person laying down the shingles.

My guess is they were Day Laborers.I've heard of a lot of contractors using them lately to keep payroll expenses(WC)down,and as an asset for taking on larger projects that one person can't do.

Albiet,they were all spanish speaking and came in a lettered truck,and may have been subbed for the prep only ,but it got me to wondering..............

Does anyone here use Day Laborers,and what are other benefits or risks involved.

 

[JumboJack]

Well IMO there are two types of "Day Laborers" The king you can get from Labor Ready and the kind you pick up from in front of Home Depot.

 

[cbfx3]

I knew a painter once that would pick up guys from the homeless shelter, put some white overalls on them, put a paint brush in their hand, and charge 30 bucks per hour for them.. I wouldnt recommend this approach myself but it was very lucrative for him (30 bucks per in NC is really good .. he probably paid them around 8 or so)

 

[oldfrt]

:no:I'm not interested in the "Home Depot"-side of the road laborers,just the legit temp help where the rates include all Ins.and minimal paperwork.

With all the out sourcing going on across the country,I wonder how many of us may be forced to use this service as a means to survival and competitive pricing.

At what point do we throw in the towel of hiring guys that we have to pay our own insurance,WC,taxes,unemployment,do extensive bookeeping.................

and take a route that will free up more valuble time and expenses,increase profit.

 

[cbfx3]

from what I myself have seen in my area most of those types seemed to be overpriced for what they were. By the time the agency adds their profits (they gotta make a buck too!) the guys were priced higher than their skill level could justify. Things may be different these days though due to the tough times

What I do from time to time (since my crew is smaller than it used to be) is bring in another sub that may be slow at the time. The framing crew I came out of has several guys that have gone out on their own that I will work with every now and then if I need a quick big crew.

 

[oldfrt]

from what I myself have seen in my area most of those types seemed to be overpriced for what they were. By the time the agency adds their profits (they gotta make a buck too!) the guys were priced higher than their skill level could justify. Things may be different these days though due to the tough times

What I do from time to time (since my crew is smaller than it used to be) is bring in another sub that may be slow at the time. The framing crew I came out of has several guys that have gone out on their own that I will work with every now and then if I need a quick big crew.

Pretty much the way I've been going,as one hand washes the other in this area.
But when this help is not available,I need an alternative to keep on schedule occasionally.

I'm for hiring/buying local,buying American AMAP,but sometimes need to just keep things going.

 

[Grumpy]

Searched the site,but couldn't find anything about this.

I was recently working across from a roofer who appeared to have himself
a good sized crew(5 guys).
They took two days to strip ,ply,and dry in about 30sq.worth of a 3-layer roof with wood shakes.

Today there was only one person laying down the shingles.

My guess is they were Day Laborers.I've heard of a lot of contractors using them lately to keep payroll expenses(WC)down,and as an asset for taking on larger projects that one person can't do.

Albiet,they were all spanish speaking and came in a lettered truck,and may have been subbed for the prep only ,but it got me to wondering..............

Does anyone here use Day Laborers,and what are other benefits or risks involved.

I use day laborers when I doa job inhouse (not subbed out) and it's a large or tough tear off job. This is especially true with single ply. We can put down alot more single ply in terms of squares than we can actually tear off, which limits us in production. Throw 3 or 4 laborers on the job for 4 hours working with us doing the grunt work and we can really put down some squares.

 

[Grumpy]

Well IMO there are two types of "Day Laborers" The king you can get from Labor Ready and the kind you pick up from in front of Home Depot.

We get the kind from labor ready, and there is no difference. We always tell them "send the guys that speak Englis, we don't speak Spanish. That's been the policy ever since we had a major screw up due to lack of communication. I might as well have been speaking chinese, they had no clue what I was saying.

I would also NEVER consider using these guys for any installation.

 

[bradgunn]

day labor

I have used guys from Labor Ready, and the hourly rate is about what I might otherwise pay, but it includes all tax and comp. But, they pay these guys less than half of that rate, so they wind up being underpaid (IMO).
Also, the local L/R won't allow them on a roof, so its pretty much grading, material handling etc.
I have had some guys do a real good job, and I've wound up hiring them.
The local L/R used to be right next to Home Depot - a community plan to cut down on "day laborers" - but now they are out of business and the Home Depot parking lot is full again. I liked the system: quick supply of temp help with no paper-work hassles.

 

[slowforthecones]

I'm all for legal labor....that includes legit day laborers. However I am not happy when I see that my competitor sneaks in illegals in the middle of the job.