Question About Temp Agencies

I'm curious what Day Labor (by that I mean cash paid daily temp agencies) are like where you are.

The one I use sends me out on a work ticket every day. However, this seems to be a rarity where I live in Jacksonville, FL. I've been in nearly every labor pool in Jacksonville until I found one that did have work. The one I use also provides van transportation to and from work so I'm not penalized for not having a car.

However, I had to sit in their lobby every morning for two weeks until the manager started sending me on work tickets. That's the way this one works, they make you sit jobless for about two weeks until they send you on work tickets. They won't say that's how they do it, but it's their modus operandi. I put in my two weeks so now I go to work almost every day.

That's far better than all of the other labor pools around here. Most of them send each individual to work only once or twice per week.

If you use daily temp agencies:

How often do you go out to work?

Do they penalize you for not having a car?

Hey im in Australia - but havent heard of any such labour pool - thats not to say that we dont have them - we do have temp agencies but you usually go in give ur resume etc and then they will call you on the day or before hand if there is work available.

Regarding the car situation - i am thinking that to a point you would get penalised if you cant get urself to a location then they would give the job to somebody who can - they wouldnt tell you that tho. A lot of my clients have fines through State Debt so have lost their licence until their fines are paid - but dont have teh money to pay the fines because they need a license for a job etc - viscious circle really.

Somebody else might have more information.

What you are saying about waiting in their lobby for 2 weeks seems insane to me not to mention cruel to you. I suppose that your unemployment levels are really high over there so the agency may have a lot of unemployed to choose from so they use this tactic to see who is really keen to work?
We do no such thing in Australia (or not that I am aware of) so, I would suggest you hang in there with this temp agency and show them how committed you are and what a great worker you are! Keep up the good work :)

Look, dude, try this, go to the dispatch person/manager, and say look, let me prove myself. I did this with the one i go thru. I got sent on some insane stuff, pulling up sod with a rake, digging footers for 10 feet x 5 in a day. Man, but it payed off. If you can show you do jobs no one else will, they will likely send you out more....

good on u antimoose - sounds like bloody hard work r u still working there?

Most of the day labor places I have heard of are about the same all over the US. Damn hard work it is too. I only personally been to one, right there in Jacksonville. One day of unloading chicken boats reminded me that I am not cut out for heavy labor... I may be setting womankind back by a few decades, but I'll leave the heavy stuff to the men.

One day of unloading chicken boats reminded me that I am not cut out for heavy labor...


I've done the chicken boat before, and I would have been happy to do it. In Jacksonville, all of the labor pools used to send workers to the chicken boat, but they've scaled back operations. I don't know where to get "chicken Boat" employment.

I've heard "Chicken Boat Man", the one who drove around downtown Jacksonville in his old pick up truck looking for workers, lost his headhunting contract with the labor pool on Talleyrand Drive. He collected $2.00 per hour worked for every person he sent on the boat. They cut him out and now the labor pool taked 100% of the worker fee.

The problem is, he still tells people he can get them on the chicken boat, and when they call him the night before they'e supposed to go to work, he comes up with an excuse as to why they can't go to work the next day. This is a stall tactic he's using because he's trying desperately to get back his contract.

His excuses usually include something like "Customs shut down the operation today" or "The boat didn't have the right paperwork to dock".

This is simply what other people who tried to get on the boat told me. I went with "Chicken Boat Man" once and I regretted it. He didn't supply the workers with freezer suits, and he got us to Jaxport/Talleyrand late so we were sent home.

Anyway, I finally landed something through the temp agency. I went in Thursday and thought that if he didn't send me on anything Thursday it was time to stop wasting time with labor pools and start going to various businesses to turn in job applications. Thursday they did send me on a work assignment though, and it's going to become permanent employment.

I have to work for them 480 hours through the temp agency, because of their contract with the temp agency, but the owner of the company told me it will become a full-time position after 480 hours.

It's exactly what I needed. It's forty hours per week, Monday through Thursday, plus overtime on some Fridays. This allows me to make money plus have time to start my own business on weekends.

It's also great because now there's enough money to get my stuff out of the pawn shop:)

Thats great that your postition will become permanent. Looks like things are starting to look up for you!

Well done Johnny and best of luck with it.:)

Hey Johnny,

Well done and welcome to the working world :D

Its always a good feeling isnt it to know that the light at the end of the tunnel is getting closer :)

I just started full time work last week - previously was doing 3 days per week - and so far so good :p

Well take care and oh good luck with setting up ur own business ;)