The shadow workforce is made up of mostly undocumented workers who do difficult manual labor jobs that most Americans won’t do. They are often subject to abuse by employers and lack legal protection. Some suggest creating migrant worker cards or hiring US citizens for these jobs. The majority of the shadow workforce is Latino and lacks protection from abuse by employers. Some lawmakers suggest stiff penalties for employers of undocumented workers.
The shadow workforce is something you’ve probably noticed, although you may not have heard the term. If you’ve ever been approached outside a home improvement store by a person asking if you need work, or noticed a group of people standing on a major intersection, seemingly waiting, you’ve seen the shadow workforce. . Basically most of these people are undocumented workers, although some have the legal right to work in the United States, and are also called day laborers because they often depend on daily job offers instead of doing standard work.
Many of these workers have jobs that most Americans don’t want or accept. Due to the fact that many do not have the legal right to work in the United States, they can be subject to considerable abuse by employers. They can be paid less than the minimum wage. The work performed by the shadow workforce often includes construction work, crop harvesting, construction work, etc. which tends to be difficult manual work. Workplace conditions can lead to injuries from which these workers have no protection. In fact, up to one in five workers may be injured every day while working, but cannot claim disability or expect compensation from their employers.
There are many economists who recognize that the shadow workforce must exist, in order to do the jobs that they “need to do” but that most Americans won’t do, especially on minimum wage or living wages. However, it is illegal to hire many of these workers unless they have the legal right to work in the United States. Some states are looking for solutions such as creating migrant worker cards to meet labor needs, especially in the agricultural and construction sectors. Others suggest that US citizens or residents should fill these jobs, and that both agriculture and construction should pay accordingly.
In the United States, about 87 percent of the shadow workforce is Latino, and about three-quarters are not legally permitted to work in the United States. Less than 10% were born in the United States. While these workers don’t always have common citizenship with other citizens, they are like most Americans in many ways. Most attend church regularly, just under half rent or own their own homes (and are not homeless), and about a quarter of the shadow workforce are involved in community activities.
What the shadow workforce lacks tends to be protection from abuse by employers. Undocumented workers can’t complain, since that would likely mean deportation. Some lawmakers have suggested stiff penalties for employers of undocumented workers, largely because these workers are so prone to abuse, without legal recourse. Stiff fines could also reduce the draw for illegal immigration to the United States. Employers who regularly employ migrant workers or the shadow workforce counter that it is extremely difficult to find people with permission to work here who will perform this type of work and that adopting a government-determined pay scale would increase costs for the consumer.
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