Terry Easton, Geographies of Hope and Despair: Atlanta’s African American, Latino, and White Day Laborers

Non-profit hiring halls and labor pools functioned similarly in that they both provided a place for day laborers to wait for work in a building that shielded them from intemperate climate. Unlike labor pools, non-profit hiring halls did not make money in their intermediary role of connecting workers to employers. Since 2000, four non-profit hiring halls opened in Atlanta, but by 2004 financial difficulties had forced two of them to close. At the two halls that remained open in Canton and Duluth, funding was secured through public and private donations and grants. Atlanta's hiring halls were founded by religious or secular-activist organizations. At the three hiring halls with religious affiliation, all day laborers were welcome regardless of religious beliefs and practices. Latinos comprised the overwhelming majority of day laborers who waited for work at Atlanta's non-profit hiring halls. Generally, homeowners and contractors in the landscaping and construction industries comprised the client base at non-profit hiring halls.

The primary goal of non-profit hiring halls was to offer day laborers a "safe" place to wait for work: a place that shielded them from extreme temperatures, and a place where they were less likely to experience non-payment or underpayment of wages. Workers were assigned jobs each day according to a lottery, and were not allowed to crowd around vehicles when potential employers arrived. A minimum wage rate of roughly twice the federal minimum was established. More than just a place to wait for work, non-profit hiring halls frequently offered coffee, English classes, health workshops, full-time job announcements, immigration and human rights information and workshops, table games, and access to computers. Hiring hall volunteers and employees worked on behalf of day laborers to ensure that workers were paid the full sum of their promised wages. The primary tactic used to prevent such abuse was requiring employers to leave their name and contact information at the hiring hall before securing a worker. A secondary tactic was to mediate on workers' behalf should their employer not pay them. If a worker was not paid wages or was paid below the agreed upon wage, hiring halls contacted employers to recoup the losses. Without a legal staff on site and operating with a small budget, hiring halls were limited in their ability to prevent wage loss, but were still successful in helping some workers collect what they were owed for their labor.

	Non-profit hiring hall coordinator Maria Garcia talks about her first encounter with day laborers, (0:52 min.) Audio interview with Terry Easton, November 26, 2002, Duluth, Georgia. RealMedia \| Windows Media \| QuickTime
	Maria Garcia talks about providing a safe place for day laborers, (2:59 min.) Audio interview with Terry Easton, November 26, 2002, Duluth, Georgia. RealMedia \| Windows Media \| QuickTime

Atlanta's Latino day laborers were especially vulnerable to non-payment or underpayment of wages. A day laborer from Guatemala who had been stiffed explains, "It's always a risk to wait for work, because a lot of times bosses will come and then not pay you . . . Patrόnes sometimes just don't pay."

Carlos Marín experienced non-payment of wages when he sought work at a street corner. In 2002, he and his brother worked for someone for a week, but they were not paid for their labor. Carlos saw the person at the corner again when he was picking up other workers. The brothers asked the man for their money, but he would not pay them. Following this incident, they turned to Calvary Christian Fellowship for help and then began waiting for work at the hiring hall.28 In general, hiring halls do whatever they can to secure unpaid wages, but they are not always able to do so.

		Non-profit hiring hall coordinator Maria Garcia talks about day labor work, (0:51 min.) Audio interview with Terry Easton, November 26, 2002, Duluth, Georgia. RealMedia \| Windows Media \| QuickTime
		Maria Garcia talks about donations to the non-profit hiring hall, (1:23 min.) Audio interview with Terry Easton, November 26, 2002, Duluth, Georgia. RealMedia \| Windows Media \| QuickTime

Workers' regard for hiring halls was evidenced by their willingness to return to them everyday. As their comments demonstrate, the hiring hall was a safe place to wait for work. Tomás Alcántara used a hiring hall instead of the street for many reasons: "The street is very unorganized. I don't like that everybody shoves and pushes and somebody can hurt you. The person that picks you up can actually run you over and it is your fault because you ran in front of him. I like the list here. I like the order. Everybody communicates with everybody very strongly."29 Tomás's comments illuminate the atmosphere of respect cultivated at the hiring hall. Javier Lόpez used the hiring hall instead of a street corner to find work because, as he says, "Over here it is easier. Over there everybody runs and I'm not aggressive enough. I don't like that." He also waited for work at the hiring hall because he enjoyed talking to the other men and eating the fifty-cent breakfast soups: "I come here because of these things [and] I like the organization here."30 Manuel Guzmán concurred, "It is dangerous [at a street corner]. I feel more safe here. People respect you. I like the list. I feel comfortable here."31 Mario Canel feared not being paid when getting work at a street corner: "I do not like the corner; maybe the boss won't pay you."32 Guillermo Hernández never waited on a street corner: "[It is] organized here and out of harm's way. They run and shove and push and the people run them over. I've seen it happen. Here it is organized and you can have coffee and soup." Guillermo added that he liked waiting for work at the hiring hall in Canton because the men "fool around and have fun" when they waited for work.33 Pickup soccer games, for example, were an established part of the waiting process.