The AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department is hot on the trail of Labor Ready - a nationwide temporary employer that puts to work thousands of low-paid, nonunion construction workers every day.

The Department is urging every state workers' compensation agency in the nation to investigate abuses by Labor Ready. In Ohio and Washington, investigations by state agents found that Labor Ready misclassified thousands of workers so it could pay lower workers' comp premiums.

Labor Ready operates 839 "stores" in 50 states and placed 700,000 workers in 6.5 million work orders for 254,000 employers in 1999, most of them in the construction industry. In Washington, where the company is based, Labor Ready laborers were paid $11 an hour, compared to $15 for union labor, plus benefits.

"They are No. 1 in sending workers into our industry in ways that undermine the standards of the industry," said BCTD Organizing Director Jeff Grabelsky said. Labor Ready has been referred to as "the day-labor equivalent of a fast-food chain." They are being sued for not paying workers travel time to and from the temp firm to the clients' work sites. They're also being sued over the use of worker-optional cash-dispensing machines - a worker who earns $38.57 takes away $37 when using Labor Ready's cash machines. In many cases, the workers have no choice because they don't have checking accounts.