USA Today: Unemployed U.S.-born workers seek day-labor jobs

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-11-29-day-laborers-side_N.htm


Donald Thee, second from right, gathers with other day laborers in Arlington, Va. He was laid off from his job as a mechanic.
By Karen Sayre for USA TODAY

By Emily Bazar, USA TODAY
ARLINGTON, Va. — When mechanic Donald Thee used to arrive at his job every morning, he would glance at the day laborers gathering across the street jostling for work when a pickup rolled by.

Over time, he befriended some, buying them meals from a taco truck when they were hungry.

Three months ago, he joined them.

"That's how quick things can change, especially in an economy this poor," he says.

Thee, 39, was laid off from the gas station where he worked and needed a way to make money. He applied for jobs at more than 100 businesses — "even McDonald's, and they're not hiring," he says — and finally decided to try to get pick-up work as a day laborer.

TRENDS: Unemployed U.S.-born workers seek day-labor jobs

Thee's story, like that of other U.S. citizens who never expected to become day laborers, is one of economic desperation. Job openings are scarce, so the unemployed are starting their days at busy intersections and home improvement stores where, if they're lucky, someone will drive up and offer work that could last a few hours or several weeks.

Landing a job as a day laborer isn't easy.

As the economy has soured, fewer workers get picked up, says Andres Tobar, executive director of the Shirlington Employment and Education Center, which runs the day-labor site where Thee and about 100 other workers converge each morning.

About 10 to 15 workers land jobs each day, compared with 40 to 50 a few years ago, he says.

FULL story at link.