Roof Workers Question

[rebecacy]

Came home from work to check and see how the new roof on my NW Chicago Burb house was doing and found a roof full of Polish workers that were high as a kite. Pot. Called the contractor and had him come look at the shoddy work. Was redone by Mexicans and it was perfect.

 

[CyOps]

Welcome to the new USA where skill labor jobs are "below" our common citizens.

I did roofing a few summers to pay for college. I don't think I would classify it as a skill labor job. That being said, most of our common citizens are unwilling or unable to do this work. By unable, I mean fat. Those guys don't last long up there.

 

[68clone]

Came home from work to check and see how the new roof on my NW Chicago Burb house was doing and found a roof full of Polish workers that were high as a kite. Pot. Called the contractor and had him come look at the shoddy work. Was redone by Mexicans and it was perfect.

Had a new roof done by Spanish speaking workers and they worked their rear ends off and did a great job.

Had a moving company (Two Men and a Truck --- actually 5 men and 2 trucks), all English speaking workers, and they worked their rear ends off and did a great job too.

I don't know what this says about different national groups, but I am amazed at the quality of work these two groups did. It was 90 - 95 degrees and they kept on going.

 

[Acylum]

I'm Caucasian, mostly German descent, and I'm pretty frickin' lazy. I can do quality work at times. Just wanted to throw that out there.

 

[BuffettClone]

Hispanic roofing crews are very common, and there's usually about a dozen of them on the roof. In my experience they're generally fast and do a good job

 

[alarson]

Welcome to the new USA where skill labor jobs are "below" our common citizens.

Well, the question would be, without that supply of cheap labor, what would the going rate for those jobs then rise to, and would it be 'below' less people?

 

[CarolinaCy]

I just got a roof installed in the past month and was surprised when the crew turned out to be Spanish speakers. It made me feel quite nervous since I don't want to break the law or employ law breakers (I don't know if I was or they were; I didn't really want to go ask them if they were legit w/ visas or whatever).

Does anyone know if this is a fairly common practice? I'm not trying to start a political debate or anything, but I will be doing a review for Angie's List. So I want to get some input on industry practices if I can before identifying them as unique if this is in fact fairly common.

Unless you hired all of these individually on your own, you're not liable for jack. I'm assuming you hired a roofing company in your area who employs said workers. If these guys are not here legally, shame on the roofing company for hiring them, but you have nothing to worry about.

 

[CycloneBob]

This is very common for the building trades (ie, dry wall, roofers, general construction). The legitimacy concern is that of the construction company owner. I had a stone facing put on our home about 3-4 yrs ago by a small Mexican owned crew. I cooked a small roasting pig for them on the last day - they were a happy bunch. Bottom line, they did an EXCELLENT job of installing the stone. I'd have them come back or recommend them at the blink of an eye.

 

[cyson]

I agree they do fine work, the only problem is if they are illegal then that means they are not insured. So if one of them falls off your roof while working on it that makes the homeowner's insurance liable for any claim they may or may not make.

What recourse would an illegal have if they fell off your roof? None. Quite cost effective. I would wager their employers pay nothing but wages. I had locals put a roof on a few years ago. One guy showed up at noon looking like hell. He had paid 300 bucks to have wisdom teeth pulled that morning, no insurance, showed up because he couldn't afford to take a full day off. Tough gig.

 

[Wesley]

Now that you mention it, my gardener only speaks Spanish. Is that normal?

Same for my carwash people.

Same for my gardeners.

 

[Clonefan94]

Well, the question would be, without that supply of cheap labor, what would the going rate for those jobs then rise to, and would it be 'below' less people?

It would probably be more like it used to be. Where the guy who owned the roofing company, was putting on your roof for you. With the influx of illegal workers, it's become a lot more profitable to hire cheap labor and sell multiple roofing jobs.

 

[rebecacy]

I agree they do fine work, the only problem is if they are illegal then that means they are not insured. So if one of them falls off your roof while working on it that makes the homeowner's insurance liable for any claim they may or may not make.

no

 

[CloneIce]

Yes, every single house in my subdivision got a new roof last year after a hail storm, and every single crew (multiple companies) spoke spanish predominantly.

 

[cytech]

What recourse would an illegal have if they fell off your roof? None. Quite cost effective. I would wager their employers pay nothing but wages. I had locals put a roof on a few years ago. One guy showed up at noon looking like hell. He had paid 300 bucks to have wisdom teeth pulled that morning, no insurance, showed up because he couldn't afford to take a full day off. Tough gig.

It all depends on the situation, but if a home owner hires a company who is uninsured then the homeowner can be liable in the event of a accident. If a company hires illegals but has insurance that would be another case.

Most states have licensing for contractors to apply for which requires proof of valid insurance.

So illegals would not be able to independently attain a license.

 

[Cyclophile1]

Same for my carwash people.

Same for my gardeners.

I don't know if I have seen more than one or two non-Hispanic dominant roofer crews in the past 10 years between here in K.C. and St. Louis.

The (Spanish-speaking) guys that did my roof did a great job. The crew leader spoke pretty decent English but the others didn't speak a lick.

Different crew of Spanish-speaking guys replaced nine windows on my second floor in two days. There was one spot on one window that needed to be re-caulked, but that was it. They cleaned up after themselves and even vacuumed the floors in the rooms where they worked. Again, a great job.

 

[fatkid1974]

Every big job I've been on the last 5 years has had Spanish roofers, concrete workers, & sheet rockers. Block layers are generally Bosnian & painters are washed up hippie stoners. English speakers can still be found doing electrical & plumbing work for the most part.

 

[CycloneTony]

I wish the owners of the company would get busted this is getting ridiculous it has totally ruined the construction market being a concrete finisher we get beat out by illegals on a weekly basis. Of course most go for the cheaper bid understandable with the bad economy but what you don't understand is they are underpaid and over-worked. It's not fair to them not fair to americans not fair to legitimate immigrants. Think of all the tax dollars not paid into the system. Everyone deserves a fair shot and it's not happening. Take all things into account when getting bids.

 

[DeereClone]

In my area of Iowa there are very few foreign workers, so I would have been inclined to ask the same question.

I am sure they did great work.

 

[ISUAlum05]

What recourse would an illegal have if they fell off your roof? None. Quite cost effective. I would wager their employers pay nothing but wages. I had locals put a roof on a few years ago. One guy showed up at noon looking like hell. He had paid 300 bucks to have wisdom teeth pulled that morning, no insurance, showed up because he couldn't afford to take a full day off. Tough gig.

It all depends on the situation, but if a home owner hires a company who is uninsured then the homeowner can be liable in the event of a accident. If a company hires illegals but has insurance that would be another case. Most states have licensing for contractors to apply for which requires proof of valid insurance. So illegals would not be able to independently attain a license.

All it takes to get a contractors license in Iowa is to pay the fee. 50 bucks, I think. Being licensed means squat, it's just a money grab.

 

[clones26]

funny semi related story:

my dad sells insuance and had an appt with a family and brought a trainee with him, they were wearing suits and got out of my dads black car with laptop bags. as my dad and the guy walk up to the house the workers on the roof scurry off the roof and into a van and skid off. i am guessing they werent