Wake up at 4:30 in the morning. Get to the temporary employment agency at 5:30 a.m. Put a name down on the list. Julio Ramírez, for example. The order in which you arrive is crucial for whether you get work or not that day. Some joke while greeting one another. Those who have been waking up before dawn for some time are like members of a brotherhood. They ask each other if anyone got work the day before. Someone talks about unloading boxes of appliances from trucks. A question is asked about how many hours he worked, another question is about how he was treated by his employers.
These are the routine exchanges. Suddenly, someone appears who doesn’t say anything or notice anybody around him, and from his clothes and his face, you can tell that his life is a daily gamble on the uncertain streets. He writes his name, goes outside again, and lights a cigarette. He remains silent, and an accent of bitterness is noticeable in his eyes and in the wrinkles of his frown. When he comes in again, he takes over a chair and falls asleep. No matter what, they won’t call anybody before 7:00 a.m. He snores.
Their day is uncertain. They don’t know what type of work they will get today or tomorrow, or even if there will have any work at all. The only clear thing is that if they are called to work [or “to burn”], they will receive $5.50 per hour, and they will have to pay between $2.00 and $6.00 to the agency for transporting them to the job site. That doesn’t include the money that is “taken away” for taxes.
“Temporary employment agencies aren’t bad. Everybody says that we rob [workers], that we exploit them. But there is a lot to clear up about that. First, at least they come here and earn money to pay the rent and eat,” said Luis Torres, owner of the agency Quality Temps on Elizabeth Avenue in the city that goes by the same name. He’s one of the few who agrees to speak face to face about the questions and issues that such agencies encounter.
A matter of procedure
Those who want to sign up for the daily employment “raffle” should show up before midnight the day before with a photo id and the dreaded social security card. Although no statistics exist, one can roughly estimate that 70 percent of the people who show up are undocumented immigrants who have a false social security card. The agencies don’t question them and simply keep a registry. Hence, the main obstacle to an undocumented immigrant who wants to work is eliminated.
There are more than 5,000 temporary employment agencies in all of New Jersey. Most of them work with factories where temporary employees have to clean, inspect and count products in work “lines.” But there are also offices that subcontract technicians and professionals. Agencies have salesmen who offer “cheap” workers to big factories. Some are even well-known companies. “But it’s that it ends up being cheaper for them to subcontract. They don’t have to worry about benefits or worker’s compensation,” explained Torres. “Factories can call at any time of the day, but of course they call more frequently in the morning. Everyday around 100 people obtain work in each employment agency.”
“I’ve seen people who have just arrived in the country who come with their suitcase and patiently wait to work one day after emigrating,” said Torres.
If a temporary worker is lucky and is able to work eight hours a day from Monday to Friday, the weekly salary is around $200.
“It’s better to stay put in your house,” said an Argentine who was waiting in a seat since 6 a.m. It was already 8 a.m, the time when pessimism begins to fill the air. “There’s not going to be anything today,” someone said 30 minutes later, staring at the floor. “They’ll probably call during the day,” added another. In any case they will all return tomorrow.
