What is the per hour rate of the guys who wait for day labor jobs on Roswell Road in Atlanta?

Question

I see those guys waiting on Roswell road off I-285 in the morning. I need help moving a small apartment. Does anyone know their standard rate per hour? Are they trustworthy and reliable enough to let them handle the furniture?

Answer 1

The previous answer is right about the reliability of casual labor, which is what this is called.  If I were you, I would make sure someone is supervising closely at all times.  

But there are other things to think about as well.  I am sure you realize that most of these guys are illegal immigrants.  If you are concerned about hiring an illegal worker (and it is against the law for you as the employer as well), the thing to do is to contract for the job rather than hire by the hour.  If  you say, "I'll pay you $100 to load my truck," that's legal.  But "I'll pay you $10 an hour to load my truck" is not.  Under the law, the first person is a contractor, an the second is an employee, because he is being paid by the hour rather than for a whole job.  You may not care about staying strictly legal, but a lot of people do care, and that's how you can do it.

And if you want more reliability, U-Haul has started a service called "Moving Help," which arranges for people to load and unload.  It's separate from the truck rental business, so you can deal directly with them.  Check it out at this Web site:

http://www.movinghelp.com

I hope this helps.  Good luck!!

Answer 2

I think about $10/hr is the going rate. Ask who speaks english and then name your price. As far as trustworthy and reliable - you are picking up a guy on the side of the road to do work. The answer should be somewhat self-evident.