Cracking the Temp Trap : Day Laborers ’ Grievances and Strategies for Change in Cleveland , Ohio

This article examines the experiences of homeless workers within the day-laborer industry in Cleveland, Ohio and the multiple challenges they encounter in attempting to gain full-time employment. To provide a context for this study, we discuss the specific historical background of the day-labor industry in the city. We present the grievances day laborers raise within the categories of hours and wages, racial discrimination, gender discrimination, sexual harassment, worker safety, barriers to permanent employment, transportation, and retaliation. The article then explains the strategies developed in a series of focus groups with day laborers aimed at addressing the structural inequities of the day-labor market. Additionally, we address the subsequent efforts by the Day Laborers’ Organizing Committee to implement these strategies, specifically focusing on the organization’s work in establishing an alternative non-profit community hiring hall and lobbying for a municipal ordinance to regulate the day-labor industry.