“Lots of Time They Don’t Pay”: Understanding Wage-Theft and Resistance in Bryan, Texas through Critical Community-Engaged Research

Cynthia Luz Cisneros Franco,Nancy Plankey-Videla

doi:10.3390/socsci11030102

Abstract

This critical community-engaged mixed methods study quantifies worker mistreatment on day labor corners in Bryan, Texas, and examines how day laborers resist labor exploitation. Day laborers seek work in open air spot markets. The work is precarious, with temporary and unregulated employment relations, weak enforcement, and poor working conditions. In this weak penalty and labor enforcement regime, labor violations are not surprising. Contrary to dominant theories, however, we argue that demand-side (industry) characteristics are more important for explaining the prevalence of labor violation than supply-side (worker characteristics). We use the Central Texas Day Labor Survey (2012–2021), 210 ethnosurveys consisting of 55% unauthorized workers, 24% authorized workers, and 20% Latinx, Black, and White citizens. We find that higher indices of labor violations and work abuse are not associated with lower-status workers; all workers, irrespective of legal status or citizenship, experienced abuse by employers. Demand-side characteristics were partially associated with higher levels of wage theft and mistreatment. In terms of wages, we found a gradation of wages with the lowest for unauthorized immigrants, then authorized immigrants, Latinx citizens, Black citizens, and lastly White citizens. Finally, workers collectively fight back against injustice by warning each other about unscrupulous employers.

Highlights

As pickups drive up slowly, the men eye the potential employer with interest and suspicion. Is she a regular employer? Is he known to workers as an employer who does not pay? What kind of work is she offering? How much is he willing to pay? Day laborers, who spend hours standing on the street corners at la 21 every day of the week, keep tabs on bad employers, those who skip out on paying for a hard day’s work or pay less than agreed upon, those who threaten day laborers with calling immigration when it’s time to pay
The quantitative and qualitative data converge to demonstrate that day laborers, regardless of citizenship or race, there is a gradation of disadvantage, experience high levels of labor violations and work abuse
We conclude the results section by bringing in qualitative data to demonstrate the relationship between labor violations, work abuse, and workers’ resistance

Summary

Introduction

In the informal labor market of day laboring, wage, and work are negotiated on the street. As pickups drive up slowly, the men eye the potential employer with interest and suspicion. Is he known to workers as an employer who does not pay? Day laborers, who spend hours standing on the street corners at la 21 every day of the week, keep tabs on bad employers, those who skip out on paying for a hard day’s work or pay less than agreed upon, those who threaten day laborers with calling immigration when it’s time to pay. Most day laborers will not accept less than USD 12 an hour The work, they explain, is hard, often perilous, and employers frequently take advantage of workers. Labor violations are rampant; day laborers share information to protect themselves and demand a measure of respect

Objectives

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion