WORK READY

My employer runs a shuttle bus service in the mornings and evenings to and from Skytrain stations. It’s quite a nice gesture and is very convenient for those who don’t drive in.

I have the choice of Gilmore and Nanaimo stations to get picked up from. Due to the timing in the mornings, I tend to use the Gilmore pick up. Though I’ve used the shuttle dozens of times, I saw something today that I’d never seen before.

The pick up point is near the intersection which is also near a bus stop. Usually the people milling about are other EA employees or people waiting for one of the two buses at the stop. While I was waiting for the shuttle this morning, I heard some dude whistle in my general direction from his car. I’m a pretty observant dude and there were clearly no women around me who were “whistle-worthy”. As well, there weren’t any dudes around me who could be classified as “whistle-worthy” either.

It didn’t make any sense but I soon forgot about the whole thing. Not five minutes later, something else happened. A dude in a pickup truck hauling a small trailer approached the intersection in the opposite lane and began honking his horn in short bursts. He then turned off to the right and appeared to pull over.

My initial thought was he was honking at nothing since I didn’t see any traffic ahead of him that would require him to toodle his horn. Then out of nowhere, two dudes who had been just milling around the bus stop ran across four lanes of traffic against the light to where the truck dude had pulled over. Both the dudes were wearing flannel shirts and constructions boots. They each looked like construction workers.

It now instantly clear to me what was happening. These were day labourers looking for work, any work they could find. I’m not sure about the legality of such arrangements in that WBC rules must be followed in construction work.

Anyways, I’ve only read about such short-term jobs in the US where many illegal immigrants work in such a manner to eke out a living. In fact, here’s a web site listing where you can find such workers in many cities.

It also made sense that just around the corner from the Gilmore station is a Home Depot. In many cities, it’s natural for these workers to gather near a Home Depot where contractors are bound to be.

So there you go. If you want to partake in some shady construction labour, try the Gilmore Skytrain station.