“Raiteros” and Temp Workers in Chicago

The raiteros don’t just transport workers. They also recruit them, decide who works and who doesn’t, and distribute paychecks.

And it’s the low-wage workers — not the temp agencies or their clients, corporate giants like Ty — who bear the cost. Officially, the raiteros’ fee, usually $8 a day, is for transportation. But, workers say, anyone who doesn’t pay doesn’t get work.

From this crowded barrio, raiteros ferry as many as 1,000 workers a day to warehouses and factories in Chicago and its suburbs. Many of these workers end up making about $6 an hour, well below Illinois’ minimum wage of $8.25 an hour, because of the fees and unpaid waiting time.

“If you complain too much, they won’t take you to work anymore,” said Maria Castro, a Mexican immigrant who has worked on and off for Ty.

That’s Ty, as in the company that produces Beanie Babies, which uses workers from temp agencies that use networks of labor brokers called “raiteros”. The raiteros often find groups of people looking for work on sidewalks — often Mexican immigrants — and then charge them fees for bringing them to work in warehouses (things like packing up products, or chopping vegetables for fast food restaurants or bagged salads). It’s very much illegal. Propublica’s investigation is my must-read this morning.

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