Laborer

Laborer
	Laborer at work in a factory
Occupation
Occupation type	Manual labor
Activity sectors	Construction,Manufacturing
Description
Fields of; employment	Construction site, Manufacturing plant
Related jobs	Construction worker

Alaborer(orlabourer) is a skilled trade, a person who works inmanual labortypes, especially in theconstructionandfactoryindustries. Laborers are in aworking classofwage-earnersin which their only possession of significant material value is theirlabor.Industries employing laborers include building things such as roads, road paving, buildings, bridges, tunnels, pipelines civil and industrial, and railway tracks. Laborers work withblastingtools,hand tools,power tools,air tools,and smallheavy equipment,and act as assistants to other trades as well^[1]such as operators or cement masons. The 1st century BC engineerVitruviuswrites that a good crew of laborers is just as valuable as any other aspect of construction. Other than the addition ofpneumatics,laborer practices have changed little. With the introduction of field technologies, the laborers have been quick to adapt to the use of this technology as being laborers'workforce.

Tools and equipment

The following tools are considered a minimum for a laborer to keep with them:hammer,pliers w/ side-cutters,utility knife,tape measure,locking pliers,crescent wrench,screwdriver,margin trowel,carpenter's pencilorsoapstone,tool belt and one pouch (bag).^{[citation needed]}In addition: afive gallon bucketwith additional tools,toolbelt suspenders,water jugand lunchbox are recommended.

Mostsafety equipmentthat is consumed or work specific, for examplehard hat,safety glasses,hearing protection,gloves,fall protection,high-visibility clothing,concrete boots,respirator/dust maskandtoe guards^[2]are provided by the employer as part ofconstruction site safety.

Personal safety equipment, for example, full leather boots (some long-time laborers believe steel toes are dangerous on the construction site; it is better to have crushed toes than toes cut off by the crushed steel - a belief proven wrong by several studies^[3]), high-strength pants -canvasordenim(some modify thighs with a sacrificial second layer of jean fabric cut from an old pair) -socks,lip balm,and climate-specificouterwear,are provided by the individual (unless laborers are instructed to work in a climate different from what they typically reside in, for example, high elevation).

Types of work

Some of the work done by laborers includes:^[4]

concrete–shotcrete,gunite,groutingandformwork
demolition–concrete cutting,pavement breaking, cutting and removal of interior building parts (framing members, doors, windows, wiring, piping, etc.)
environmental remediationandhazardous waste
fencesandlandscaping
Mowingand keeping construction site free of weeds
street sweeping
Cleaning of the construction site and trash removal
Setting up temporary lights, heaters and other things needed on site
hod carrier–masonry,plasterersandfireproofing
paving– white paving formwork,traffic control,striping,signs
piping–water pipe,sewerandstorm drain
fieldtechnology
general digging and grading
tunnels–drillingandblasting
Dry utilities –Electrical and communications conduit
loading and offloading – handling of physical goods, such as construction materials

Pay

As a manual labor occupation, to attract free workers the wages paid to laborers are higher than those paid in general to unskilled workers (seedirty, dangerous and demeaning). In the United States, a union laborer earns equal or greater than most work available to anyone with a bachelor's degree. This is one of a few fields where someone without a high school diploma can still earn aliving wage.Union, heavy construction and highway construction laborers earn on average (2008 US) $25.47/h compared to 13.72/h for non-union laborers.^[5]In addition to paid earnings, union laborers enjoy the benefits of medical insurance, vacation pay, pension plans, representation and vocational schools; totaling $45/hr (2012 US) and some with special skills earn 'over-rate' wages. It is not uncommon for youngcivil engineers,construction managersandconstruction engineerstypical salary of (2007 US$) 40,000 to 60,000 to fall short of their union laborers average wages of 50,000 to 80,000.

However, unlike engineers, laborers are not usually employed full-time year-round and face significant hazards. The additional pay laborers receive is often balanced out by the lesser unemployment checks they receive while out of work and the disability checks they receive while injured—often debilitated for life. That is if unemployment and injury insurance is provided, which is often not the case unless they are labor union members. Engineers are also not immune to being out of work. In heavy civil work, some are employed on a project basis and mental injuries due to stress are a different but debilitating hazard. Because of the wide range of skills and ability to simply provide muscle, laborers often earn side-work as independent contractors andunder-the-tablework.

In construction, the pay for laborers is low enough that planning problems can be solved by "throwing laborers at it." This can become a toxic and dangerous brew of unplanned work that slides forward on the blood and sweat of hard-working laborers—injury rates often soar. The value of work put in place by laborers and the value of avoided rework and increased efficiencies produced by the engineers' planning is a balance of resource utilization on any large project.

Hazards and conditions

There are dangers associated with laboring. Many laborers are severely injured or killed in accidents each year while performing work duties.^[6]Many who work as laborers for even a short period of time will suffer from permanent work injuries such as:hearing loss,arthritis,osteoarthritis,back injuries,eye injury,head injury,chemical burn(limesensitivity),lung disease,missing fingernails and skin scars.^[7]Alcoholism,drug use,anddrug abuseare common although most companies requiredrug screeningfor all new hires.^[8]If a laborer is injured on the job they are immediately given a drug test.^[9]If the test results are positive then they are ineligible for anyWorkers' compensationbenefits.^[10]There is a gray area for the use ofmarijuanadue tomedical marijuanaprescriptions. Some who have been dismissed for failing a drug test while possessing a prescription have been later reinstated with pay as having beenwrongfully terminated.

Collective bargaining

The Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA) represents laborers on public and private projects in North America. Some of the business representatives are laborers who have been so severely injured they can no longer labor. With a phone call and a good reason they will be on-site the next morning asking questions and demanding apologies for mistreatment of laborers.^[11]