BlueCrew (YC S15) uses tech for blue-collar temp agency

sfchronicle.com

21 points·coopernewby··5 comments

I was lucky to meet these guys recently. They hire staffers as W2 workers, not 1099 contractors. They're building something that is impacting the lives of people who typically work minimum wage jobs. The talented, reliable workers on their platform make more than minimum wage, which is a testament to how Bluecrew's marketplace creates better outcomes for workers and businesses.

I am a little worried that they will get blown away by a competitor who is not as nice to people and can be cheaper that way.

Yea. I was wondering how can they afford to pay for the benefits for W-2.

How can they compete to someone doing exactly the same thing but as a 1099 contractor instead of W2 to cut cost.

Neato. It'd be cool to see this go nationwide.

Some non-paywalled info:

http://techcrunch.com/2015/07/08/bluecrew/

http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/bluecrew-upgrades-o...

As far as I can tell the only novel thing about this is that they are W2 employees. I've worked with unskilled and semi-skilled laborers from temp agencies in my last blue collar job.

So are these guys all making 32 hours a week and qualifying for benefits? How does their pay reflect their skills. Do they offer more skilled temps than competing agencies?

I'm suspicious that this isn't so much a business model as much a faux humanitarian PR stunt.

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