piece work. whats the deal?

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pauls371

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West Palm Beach Florida
In my search for employment in Florida i have been asked about doing "piece work" This is not to common in my area. Can you guys give your input? ideas? benefits or downfalls. How does it really work? and can i compete with the seasoned piece work guys? Thanks to all.. see you in Florida very soon.
 
Re: piece work. whats the deal?

Peice work is generally thought of in new construction. I stay away from new construction because contractors dont pay ya. The only way to be competitive on peice work is to lower your price less than the freelance guy. Its not really a good choice unless you are real REAL hungry.
 
Re: piece work. whats the deal?

Piecework was outlawed many decades ago but don't let that stop some businessman. It's a step above slavery.

Illegal in the sense you cannot be an independant contractor AND work under someone else's license / insurance as an employee. But that's exactly how it works.
 
Re: piece work. whats the deal?

A few still do what amounts to piecework here.The way its played is you never report that you worked over 40 hours,that way there is no OT.They simply pay so much per rough in or trim that changes by the house.
Usually quality suffers with this kind of work.Florida only cares about having a master license and cares not if you hire journeymen or helpers.Master seldom if ever sees any of the work.He simply is called the go to jail person if something goes wrong.If your coming here bring money cause you won't make any here unless you want to work 60 hours a week or be on call 24/7
 
Re: piece work. whats the deal?

Do a search for "piece work" (or "piecework") in this and the NEC areas.

I've opted out of it. I would make a little more money at it, but I would rather contribute that back to the company and guarantee 40 hour paychecks, then have the occasional bad house (or whoopsie-daisy in the calculations) screw up whether or not I make the mortgage payment.

I keep my numbers good, so as to not be forced onto it.
 
Re: piece work. whats the deal?

laws against piece work is hard to inforce and greed is it's biggest enemy!! the customer pays the price for the mistakes caused by the oversights of pieceworkers! it started years ago with drywall installers and has drifted down into other trades. i have actually seen drywall finishers working on satruday and sunday with his entire family ---wife and small kids --- working on residential projects! no insurance and payed in cash!!
 
Re: piece work. whats the deal?

Roofers, drywall and the like, have been doing it for years. The Plumbing Co next door to our shop has a line of trucks evry morning waiting to pick up their pallet of materials to install. The truck have the company name on them, but each guy is an independant contractor. He may do rough-in, top-out, or set fixtures, but rarely a combination. They may only know how to rough-in. They do pre-fab in the shop then pay piece to install. The electrical resi work has gone to this also. It's the only way to compete.
 
Re: piece work. whats the deal?

paul,,
i was in cape coral,fort meyers,naples,last year @ this time,making 16.00 an hour,
being from the boston erea and a 23 year seasoned vetran,i thought it was outrageous,
be prepared to work 10 hour days and make a 100.00 a day :cool:
have a great time!!
 
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