Cheap Labor Depot

A few weekends ago, my sister and I went early in the morning to the Home Depot by the stadiums in downtown Seattle. There is only one entrance/exit, and it had tons of migrant worker guys hanging around in the parking lot. I’m not saying that I’m ignorant about the whole day laborer concept. I’m just saying I’ve never seen it so blatantly out in the open. Surprisingly, they don’t have day laborers at my Home Depots in Beaverton and Hillsboro.



Maybe the one in Seattle is like a Mega-Home Depot with a larger gardening section, premium lumber, and also... day laborers. It was just weird to see. It was 7am in downtown Seattle. More than sixty Hispanic guys. Standing around, eager—no, primed and ready—to jump in our car. They were waving and yelling and advertising themselves as we drove in.

One guy held up two fingers and yelled, “Dos!” Sorry buddy, we already got dos. Me and my sister, and all we’re doing is hanging rods in the closet. Maybe next time.