Dudes Hanging Around Home Depot/Lowes Looking For Work

[BeachGuy23 642]

Another thread got me thinking about this.  Every time I go to HD or Lowes I seen tens of dudes, usually hispanic, just sitting there by the entrance of the parking lot.  Waiting for someone to hire them I assume.  I have no idea of these guys are legal, have no idea how you decide what to pay them, have never used them before.  But they're there in all weather, hot, cold, raining, whatever so clearly people are "hiring" them.  I'm not really sure what to think about this but some questions.

1. If they're illegal, does the fact that there are so many who are apparently getting hired regularly (again why sit there for nothing) tell us we have a labor supply issue?  I know that in my area contractors are booked solid and often times won't even bother to show up for estimates, etc.  They're clearly not hurting for work and are more expensive than ever.

2. Is it good for the economy they're there or bad?

3. Do they pay taxes if they're illegal?

4. Do they have drivers licenses or other government docs?

I don't expect folks to know these answers for sure but I think it's really interesting and the fact is that they're sitting there waiting for work.  They can't be lazy or sponging off the government, right?  Otherwise, why be there?

It's an entire world I know little of. 

[Reality 3,134]

Talk to Tim, that's literally his labor force. He can probably square away the details.

[MDC 8,108]

1. I don’t think it’s a labor shortage - they’ve been there at the HD and Lowe’s for decades, this isn’t new. I think it’s more an indication that the people who hire them don’t want to pay marketer rate for legal labor.

2. bad

3. no

4. no

[kilroy69 1,273]

14 minutes ago, BeachGuy23 said:

Another thread got me thinking about this.  Every time I go to HD or Lowes I seen tens of dudes, usually hispanic, just sitting there by the entrance of the parking lot.  Waiting for someone to hire them I assume.  I have no idea of these guys are legal, have no idea how you decide what to pay them, have never used them before.  But they're there in all weather, hot, cold, raining, whatever so clearly people are "hiring" them.  I'm not really sure what to think about this but some questions.

1. If they're illegal, does the fact that there are so many who are apparently getting hired regularly (again why sit there for nothing) tell us we have a labor supply issue?  I know that in my area contractors are booked solid and often times won't even bother to show up for estimates, etc.  They're clearly not hurting for work and are more expensive than ever. It tells us we have a manual labor supply issue. 

2. Is it good for the economy they're there or bad? I mean if they are catching overflow jobs that are going unfilled I do not see what is too bad about that. 

3. Do they pay taxes if they're illegal? Absolutely not. You pay them in cash by the hour for the day.  You can negotiate this but it is typically 50-70 a day for a 12 hour day. They may be there the next day or they may not. Just mix and match. 

4. Do they have drivers licenses or other government docs? Absolutely not. Do not hire them thinking they are bonded and insured. They are not going to be able to drive a work truck.

What they will do is work like packmules. 

 

[BeachGuy23 642]

3 minutes ago, MDC said:

1. I don’t think it’s a labor shortage - they’ve been there at the HD and Lowe’s for decades, this isn’t new. I think it’s more an indication that the people who hire them don’t want to pay marketer rate for legal labor.

2. bad

3. no

4. no

Then how come legitimate contractors are so busy they won't return calls or show up for estimate?

They're clearly not hurting.  I think these HD fellows are filling a need.  Just don't know if it's the best way to do it. 

[IGotWorms 4,063]

Funnily enough, it’s likely the immigrant-hating white nationalists who hire them the most