Not sure if you have seen it, but you ought to catch the book excerpt in this week’s Independent. It’s the second chapter of Dick Reavis’ book Catching Out: The Secret World of Day Laborers.
I haven’t read the book yet (But it is on my Amazon wish list – hint, hint), but the excerpt was spot on with my considerable experience with day labor pools. If there is any thing more depressing than not being able to work, it is the horror of investing 14 hours or so only to walk away with something like $35, assuming you actually get picked to work today.