Labor Experts + Longshormen: Daily hiring a stress?

[oscar111]

Am i right in thinking it is an enormous stress to have to be fired at the end of each day,

and then try to be re-hired each morning at the "shape-up"?

Looks brutal, inhuman to me.

True?

Can these folks ever get a mortgage? Such uncertain income!

Some other jobs have daily hiring rituals.. like some garbagemen.

The insecurity must kill them after a while. Were such labor practices as "shape-ups" ever banned here, or any foreign land?

Thank you, Longshoremen and Labor Experts, i value your effort to educate me,

seminewbie oscar

[Systematic Chaos]

1. Las Vegas has a huge day labor market.

On any given day there are a few places around town where dozens of mostly hispanic men will gather, hoping that someone will pick them up for a few hours of construction cleanup or some other kind of work. I think in most cases they pay is for cash and is quite low. I guess that's not such a horrible thing, except for if you get injured, or having to do that during the peak of the summer months.

[tech3149]

2. Sounds like the cattle calls of the late 20's

Get ready here it comes.

I'm changing my name to Tom Joad.

[HockeyMom]

3. My Dad did it for 40 years in NY

Back in the old days, it was never a problem. The men who had seniority worked the same pier day after day. Occasionally, they would send him to a different pier in Manhattan or to Brooklyn, but that was very rare.

When they containerized the piers here in the early 70s(?), it just about eliminated all their jobs. Under the contract that was negotiated, the men would be paid if there was no work. My Dad had to go down every day for the shape up. Of course there was no work, so then he went home, but he got paid under that contract. Dad did this for around 10 years until he got too old and sick. Without that contract, I don't know what Dad would have done for a job since he was well into his 50s when they containerized.

[oscar111]

4. Houseworkers "Days Work"? what that mean?

on a visit to VA, a poor lady who did maid work for the well to do, said she did "days work".

What exactly does that odd phrase mean?

Were household workers like maids hired and fired daily, like longshoremen?

[oscar111]

5. "day laborers" -- is that the general term

for this?